A beautiful new mapping tool from the Boston Fed offers a visual tour through almost two decades of Massachusetts foreclosure data. The jewel of the Web site is an interactive map that shows, like a series of time-lapse photographs, the annual pattern of foreclosures in Massachusetts since 1990.

The site also offers charts showing the history of foreclosures and housing prices in every Massachusetts city and town since 1987.

This a great resource. The data, which comes from Warren Group, is available in other places. But the Fed's interface is as good as it gets.

One thing that becomes very visible is that, consistently over the last two decades, the most vulnerable areas have been central and southeastern Massachusetts. Another striking visual is the absence of foreclosures in the early years of this century.

But perhaps it's more interesting that foreclosures remained at elevated levels all through the 1990s. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren made this point in a speech last week: "While foreclosures peaked in 1992, they remained quite elevated through much of the decade, despite the eventual rebounding of the economy... indicating that the duration of today's situation may be longer than some are anticipating."

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