Stoneham Foreclosure Activity Mixed in May

[Editor's Note: Information from a Warren Group press statement was used in this report.]

This article was posted by Mark Ouellette. It was reported and written by Mark Ouellette.

Stoneham foreclosure activity was mixed in May, while completed foreclosures in Massachusetts decreased, according to the latest data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Foreclosure Deeds

There was one foreclosure deed, which represent completed foreclosures, recorded in Stoneham in May, while there was one in May 2012, the statement adds. Nine foreclosure deeds were filed through May last year in Stoneham, compared to one during the same time this year, according to the statement.

Statewide, foreclosure deeds dropped more than 68 percent to 251 in May from 796 in May 2012, according to the statement. A total of 1,246 foreclosure deeds have been recorded in the first five months of the year, down nearly 69 percent from 4,011 a year earlier, the statement adds.

Foreclosure Petitions

No foreclosure petitions, which marks the start of the foreclosure process, were filed against a Stoneham property in May, while there were four filed in May 2012. Twenty-four petitions were filed through the first five months of the 2012 in Stoneham, but only three have been filed during the same time period this year, representing a nearly 88 percent decrease, according to the statement.

A total of 248 foreclosure petitions were filed statewide in May compared to 1,779 starts filed last year, reads the statement. The May number is the lowest recorded since The Warren Groupstarting compiling foreclosure data in 2006, the statement adds. Through May of this year, 2,698 petitions have been filed statewide, down 66 percent from 7,877 during the same period in 2012, according to the statement.

"This month's data further supports our argument that the foreclosure crisis is behind us. The combination of a recovering housing market and banks' willingness to allow for loan modifications has helped suppress foreclosure levels," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in the statement. "Legislation passed last year that forces lenders to consider alternatives to foreclosure is also contributing to the decrease as lenders revamp their foreclosure procedures to comply." 

Foreclosure Auctions

There were two foreclosure auctions announced in Stoneham in May, compared to zero filed in the same month a year earlier. Through the first five months of 2012, there were two auctions announced in Stoneham, but there have been three announced during the same time period this year, according to the statement.

Statewide, there were 447 auction announcements in May, down 69 percent from 1,446 a year ago, according to the statement. Year-to-date auction notices in Massachusetts are down about 73 percent - declining to 1,925 from 7,023 last year, reads the statement.