Mass. foreclosures more than doubled during first half of year

Foreclosures in Massachusetts more than doubled during the first half of 2008 compared with the same period last year, according to a report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

A total of 6,707 foreclosure deeds were recorded in the first six months of this year, up 117.6 percent from 3,083 at this time last year. In June, foreclosure deeds, the final step in the foreclosure process, rose 50 percent to 1,131 from 756 in June 2007 . Though the number of foreclosures increased year-over-year, the number of foreclosures in June were 19.5 percent lower than May 2008 with 1,405 deeds recorded.

And petitions to foreclose, the first step in the process, fell sharply in June, with 350 petitions to foreclose filed, an 84.8 percent decline from 2,308 in June 2007 and 10.3 percent lower than May 2008 when 390 were filed. The right-to cure law, legislation requiring lenders intending to foreclose to give borrowers 90 days to pay off loan defaults, is credited with postponing some foreclosure petitions.

Overall, however, foreclosure petitions during the first half of 2008 increased 1.4 percent to 13,076 from 12,899 in 2007.

"Despite the temporary drop-off in foreclosure petitions over the last two months, overall foreclosure activity is consistently climbing," said Timothy Warren, chief executive of the Boston-based Warren Group, in a press release. "Thousands of homeowners are still at risk of losing their homes this year."

In June, auction notices rose 17 percent to 1,589 from 1,358 in June 2007. Year-to-date auction notices jumped 38.8 percent to 10,504 from 7,570 .
(By Elizabeth Campbell, Globe correspondent)