April foreclosures drop in Mass.

Statewide, foreclosures plunged to 755 in April, the first time they have dropped below 800 in six months. Foreclosures were down 20.8 percent from March - when 953 homeowners lost their homes, according to data released yesterday by Warren Group, which tracks real estate transactions.

Year-to-date, foreclosure numbers also improved.

For the first four months of 2009, the number of foreclosures fell 15.9 percent to 3,510, compared with the same period in 2008.

And petitions to foreclose, the first step in the process, dropped 39.5 percent to 2,013 last month, compared with April 2008.

Despite the improving numbers, Grace Ross, coordinator of the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending, said, "The foreclosure crisis isn't over."

"All of the bigger trends are still not good," Ross said.

Housing officials are expecting a new wave of foreclosures nationwide prompted by interest-only loans and other risky mortgages that are scheduled to reset to higher rates this year. An increase in the jobless rate and mortgage loan delinquencies add to concerns that the housing crisis still has a way to go, said Timothy Warren Jr., chief executive of Warren Group.

"I'm cautious about being overly optimistic about this latest report," Warren said.

Ross said what makes her hopeful is not the numbers but the fact that government officials appear to be taking the housing crisis seriously.

Among the latest actions, Boston city councilors on Wednesday approved three home-rule petitions that would provide eviction protection to tenants and owners in foreclosed buildings, enforce a 180-day moratorium on some foreclosures, and create a program to mediate between struggling homeowners and lenders. The proposed laws require approval by the state Legislature.

"It's a real shift," Ross said, "just the awareness of seriousness of the crisis."

Jenifer McKim can be reached at jmckim@globe.com.