Seeing more red

And in a clear sign that the mortgage meltdown is spreading, foreclosure filing rates are climbing in suburban towns, which previously had been spared the brunt of the state’s housing crisis, real estate specialists said.

“It isn’t just confined to the working-class communities,’’ said Timothy Warren, chief executive of The Warren Group, a Boston publisher of real estate data. “We’re seeing more and more, in vacation home areas and in white-collar suburban communities. Foreclosures have started to hit home there.’’

“As the economy has worsened, we’re now seeing foreclosures impacting different kinds of people, ’’ said David Turcotte, director of the Institute for Housing Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. “Even in towns, the rate of petitions and foreclosures has gone up. It’s definitely attributable to the economy.’’

Unemployment in Massachusetts hit 9.1 percent in December, up from 8.3 percent in November, the state Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported last month. Cities in the Merrimack Valley exceeded the state average last month, however. The Lawrence-Methuen labor market had a 13.7 percent unemployment rate in December, while the Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford market had a 9.7 rate, according to state data.

Other places fared a little better than the state overall. Unemployment in the Peabody labor market was 9.1 percent in December, and the Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury market had a rate of 8.9 percent, state data show.

The mounting job losses are a sign that more homeowners are at risk of foreclosure, one industry watcher said.

“They’re not all credit-blemished borrowers,’’ said Kevin Cuff, executive director of the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association, a trade group. “A lot are high-income earners, with high credit scores. They leveraged everything to get a bigger, better home. . . . Then they lost their job . . . and they can’t make their mortgage payments.’’

While foreclosure auctions fell last year, more homes are at risk of heading to auction, since foreclosure filings continue to rise. A petition to foreclose is the first step in the process. Foreclosure filings in some towns posted double-digit increases last year, said the Warren Group.

Billerica’s filings increased 36 percent, to 157, compared with the prior year, the data show. Billerica Town Manager John C. Curran could not be reached for comment on the impact of foreclosures on the town.

While foreclosure activity is increasing in suburbs, it’s not clear if it is eating into town coffers. In Middleton, for example, there were 25 foreclosure filings last year, up from just three in 2008, data show.

But six homes were actually foreclosed upon, one fewer than in 2008, according to the Warren Group.

So far, the town has not had to place tax liens on properties to collect back taxes, said Town Treasurer Kathleen McMahon. “Usually when banks foreclose, they tend to pay any outstanding taxes,’’ McMahon said. “They are looking to protect their interest.’’

Foreclosure auctions have become more common in suburbs in the last year. Stanley Paine Real Estate Auctioneers of Newton conducts 10 to 12 auctions per day. “That’s when the economy really got bad,’’ said Paine. “Now auctions are common a lot in Andover, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Beverly . . . all over, really.’’

In Newbury, an auction of a home at 53 Scotland Road on Jan. 28 drew several bidders. But none were willing to top the minimum bid of $434,738 set by Bank of America, which ended up keeping the property, auctioneer Sean Paine said.

“It was a nice property, up a long driveway,’’ said Paine, who works for his father’s firm.

A two-family home at 5 Andrew St. in Danvers sold for $167,000, after three bidders registered at the auction held Jan. 27, Paine said. “There was a huge crowd. It touched off a bidding war,’’ Paine said.

In Essex, a waterfront home at 97 Conomo Point Road sold recently at a foreclosure auction for $505,000, auctioneer Stanley Paine said. “I think they [the buyer] got a very good price.’’

Lynn, the largest city in Essex County, had 313 homes sold at foreclosure auctions last year, including many in the city’s middle-class neighborhoods, a housing official said.

“It’s not just in our inner-city neighborhoods, where a lot of people had the subprime mortgages, said Norm Cole, director of planning and development at the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development, the city’s housing agency. “Now, we’re seeing people, who have lost their jobs, or have had their hours cut, struggling.’’

Foreclosure filings rose 8 percent in Lynn last year, compared with 2008, the data show. The city has reached out to homeowners in danger of losing their homes. Lynn Housing is also working with the United Way and Neighborhood Legal Services, a nonprofit that provides assistance to low-income residents on how to avoid foreclosure. “It’s a constant concern for us,’’ Cole said. “It’s very sad to see anyone lose their home.’’

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.