Many more are losing their homes

It's a word that instills fear in homeowners, especially those with uncertain means -- foreclosure.

Hundreds of property owners south of Boston experienced this last year when the housing market cooled and foreclosure notice filings increased at a rapid pace.

In Bristol, Norfolk, and Plymouth counties, the total number of filings in 2006 is likely to be more than double that in 2004, according to projections by ForeclosuresMass.com, a website that compiles listings of foreclosed properties in Massachusetts.

Foreclosure notice filings in the first 10 months of last year increased 129 percent compared with the same period in 2004. From January through October last year, there were 1,453 filings in Bristol County, 1,130 in Norfolk County, and 1,780 in Plymouth County.

Foreclosure refers to the legal process by which a lender can repossess a property if the owner falls behind in mortgage payments.

"Contrary to popular belief, lenders don't want to own your house. . . . They don't want to foreclose," said Peter Ruffini of Harbour Realty in Plymouth who is president of the Plymouth and South Shore Association of Realtors.

But there's no doubt the number of foreclosure notices filed in Massachusetts has increased dramatically in the past two years. The escalation, Ruffini said, reflects the conditions of the real estate market as it slumped.

One reason for the increase in filings was that properties were staying on the market longer, which prevented some homeowners from selling their property as an alternative to foreclosure, he said.

"The average market time skyrocketed, to 120 to 180 days. If you're in that situation and you need to sell, it puts you in a tough spot," he said.

Sheila Farragher-Gemma, founder of ForeclosuresMass.com, predicted the total statewide foreclosure figures from last year will break the previous record set in 1991. The 2006 figures are still being compiled, but it appears the Bay State will have had upward of 17,000 foreclosure notice filings, surpassing the previous high 15 years earlier.

Foreclosures "have been steadily increasing since 2004," Farragher-Gemma said. And there's no sign this trend is slowing down -- at least not yet. "I think it's going to continue this year, and possibly into 2008," she said.

In Bristol County, there were 697 home foreclosure filings in 2004 and 1,001 in 2005. Plymouth County recorded 966 filings in 2004 and 1,349 in 2005. In Norfolk County, there were 701 foreclosures filed in 2004 and 956 in 2005.

Farragher-Gemma said several factors are at work pushing up the numbers. There's the stagnant housing market. There's the increasing popularity of adjustable-rate mortgages, which puts homeowners' wallets at the mercy of fluctuating interest rates. For families living paycheck to paycheck, or those going through a divorce or the loss of a job, it can mean reaching a breaking point.

Not all foreclosure filings have sad endings; the notice filing only marks the beginning of the process. The homeowner might sell the home or figure out a financing plan with the lender.

Only one out of five properties is usually repossessed by the bank or lender.

But that worst-case scenario played out 379 times last year in Plymouth County, where the Registry of Deeds recorded more than twice as many foreclosure deeds as it did in 2005, when there were 136.

"Given the amount of attention paid to foreclosures, this may not seem like a large number to some people," said Plymouth County Register of Deeds John R. Buckley Jr . "But what we are tracking is the number of deeds being recorded as a result of foreclosure sales at the end of the foreclosure process, as opposed to the number of notices that begin the process."

Buckley said the 379 "represents the number of homeowners who, after being notified of foreclosure proceedings, were unable to reach an alternative agreement with their lender or sell the property under more favorable conditions."

The number represents properties sold by lenders, typically at a discount, dashing the former mortgage holder's All-American dream of home ownership.

Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.