Globe reports foreclosures down

The Boston Globe reports today that foreclosures are down thus far this year compared to the same period last year. Comments by both UMass Lowell professor, Dave Turcotte (my co-author of the monthly Merrimack Valley Housing Report) and Tim Warren of the Warren Group both suggest that the rate of foreclosures could begin to pick up again due to questions about the economy and an end to artificial factors that have caused lenders to defer foreclosures.

Our own figures for this year might be grounds for optimism. The number of orders of notice recorded from January 1, 2010 to April 21, 2010 was 483; for the same period in 2011, it was 230, a decrease of 50%. Similar declines occurred with foreclosure deeds which dropped from 205 in 2010 to 102 this year, a decline of 52%.