Foreclosure filings slow last month in Mass.

One out of every 689 households in Massachusetts received a foreclosure filing in February, according to RealtyTrac Inc. of California, ranking the state 16th nationally in terms of foreclosure activity.

Nationwide, foreclosure filings in February fell 4 percent from the previous month, and Massachusetts foreclosure filings fell 51 percent, according to RealtyTrac. In Massachusetts, there were 3,906 filings in February, down from 7,966 in January; February 2008 filings were up 56 percent when compared with February 2007 filings, RealtyTrac said.

RealtyTrac's numbers include properties in all stages of the foreclosure process, from initial default notices to auction sale notices to and bank repossessions.

In a statement, RealtyTrac chief executive James J. Saccacio cautioned that "We have still not reached the peak of foreclosure activity in this cycle."

Nevada continued to report the highest foreclosure rate among states, with one in every 165 households there receiving a foreclosure notice in February. California, Florida, Arizona, and Colorado round out the top five states. Nationally, one out of every 557 households received a foreclosure filing last month.

In January, the Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks New England real estate, reported that mortgage companies foreclosed on 7,653 Massachusetts homes last year, about nine times the number in 2005, when the housing boom peaked, and about triple the number in 2006.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)