Local foreclosures are in a holding pattern

Massachusetts foreclosure filings dropped 85 percent in June from a year ago, largely because of a recent change in foreclosure regulations, said ForeclosuresMass.com, a Framingham-based provider of Massachusetts foreclosure data for investors, real estate professionals, and mortgage brokers.

The firm said that it expects the drop to be temporary and that local foreclosure rates are likely to return to record levels soon.

June had 351 filings because of the mandated extension before foreclosure action can be filed in Land Court, a drop of 85 percent from the 2,343 petitions filed in June 2007.

New foreclosure regulations, which went into effect May 1, have continued to produce a temporary lull in foreclosure filings, ForeclosuresMass.com added. Those new regulations created a 90-day cooling off period before foreclosure proceedings can begin in court. Previously, those proceedings could begin within 30 days after a borrower went into default.

“Massachusetts foreclosures are in a holding pattern, but the low numbers of filings we’ve seen over the past two months will end within the next four to six weeks,” Jeremy Shapiro, president and cofounder of ForeclosuresMass.com, said in a statement. “Massachusetts homeowners continue to face a wide range of economic pressures, and will soon return to the record foreclosure levels being seen nationwide.”

Taking a longer-term view, ForeclosuresMass.com noted that lenders initiated 30,026 foreclosures statewide in Massachusetts against homeowners in the 12-month period that ended June 30, a year-over-year increase of 22.4 percent.

In the past 12 months, foreclosures are up in 241 of the state’s 351 communities, with 75 communities experiencing at least a 50 percent increase in filings.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)