Foreclosure filings in Mass. jump 66%

The Boston Globe reports:

Foreclosure filings in Massachusetts increased 66 percent in the second quarter, according to data released yesterday, a trend that is expected to continue over the next year.

Mortgage lenders filed 4,292 notices of foreclosure against homeowners during the second quarter, up from 2,585 a year earlier, according to ForeclosuresMass Corp., which compiles the data from Massachusetts Land Court. That 66 percent surge in filings compares with a 30 percent rise in first-quarter filings.

The state's rate of past-due mortgages -- the number of homeowners more than 30 days behind in their payments, as a percent of total mortgages -- is 3 percent, compared with 4 percent nationwide, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Lenders have filed for foreclosure on 0.6 percent of Massachusetts mortgages, below the 1 percent national rate.

But, Jeremy Shapiro, the president of ForeclosuresMass, said he was alarmed about the pace of Massachusetts' sharp recent increases.

``The foreclosures in Massachusetts right now are skyrocketing," he said. ``This is a problem that's going to extend through 2007 and 2008."


Kevin Cuff, the executive director of the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association, said these are ``big increases." However, the total number of mortgage loans also has ballooned. For example, just 315,000 mortgages were extended to Massachusetts homeowners in 2000. By 2002, loans had doubled and hit a record 870,000 in 2003.

Lending activity has slowed recently, to 535,000 mortgages in 2005.

Unless Massachusetts can bring new job growth the situation could get worse.