Foreclosure filings up 70 percent in 2006
Petitions to foreclose on Massachusetts homeowners rose nearly 70 percent in 2006, and the number of distressed properties that went to auction increased 46 percent, a report said today.
The report is from The Warren Group of Boston, publisher of Banker & Tradesman and a provider of New England real estate data.
In Suffolk County, which includes Boston, petitions to foreclose jumped 79 percent in 2006, the report said.
Petitions to foreclose are the first step in the foreclosure process and do not always end in actual foreclosure.
In 2006, mortgage lenders filed 18,926 petitions to foreclose, compared with 11,155 in 2005, the Warren Group said; lenders announced 6,729 foreclosure auctions in 2006, versus 4,620 in 2005.
"As housing prices decline, people who had borrowed 90, 95, or even 100 percent of the value of their home now find themselves owing more than their homes are worth," the group's chief executive, Timothy Warren Jr., said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
