Melrose's 2011 Foreclosure Activity Half That of 2010

Matching a statewide year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity, both the number of foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures in Melrose dropped by more than half year-over-year in 2011, while auctions were down as well, according to the latest figures from The Warren Group.

In 2011, foreclosure deeds—which represent completed foreclosures—were filed against 12 Melrose properties. That's down 60 percent from the 30 deeds filed in 2010.

Statewide, the number of completed foreclosures dropped by more than 30 percent in 2011 to 8,528, down from 12,238 in 2010.

Foreclosure petitions, which are the first step in the foreclosure process, were also down. In 2011, 26 petitions were filed against Melrose properties, an almost 53 percent decrease from the 55 filed in 2010.

The number of foreclosure petitions throughout Massachusetts dropped by more than 47 percent to 12,634 last year from 23,931 in 2010.

Announced foreclosure auctions in Melrose didn't fall as dramatically as deeds and petitions, but they were still down compared to the previous year. In 2011 there were 46 foreclosure auction announcements in Melrose, a drop of almost 18 percent from the 56 in 2010.

The Warren Group also tracked a large decrease in auction announcements in 2011. A total of 16,941 auction announcements were tracked in 2011, a 42 percent drop from 29,277 in 2010.

Despite the decreased foreclosure activity in 2011, The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. warned in a press release that the numbers may not be necessarily indicative of the market, but of a stunted foreclosure process.

"It's promising to see a drop in foreclosures for the year. However, it's no secret that the low numbers are indicative of lenders slowing foreclosure processes throughout much of the year,"  Warren said in the release."I'm expecting that we'll see a true picture of the market as the process gets back on track in the coming year."

State Increase in Activity During December, Melrose Holds Steady

Despite the year-over-year trend, Massachusetts ended the year with an uptick in foreclosure activity, while Melrose's numbers stayed steady year-over-year.

Melrose did not have any completed foreclosures in December, compared to three in December 2010, while the state had 757 foreclosure deeds, a 56 percent increase from 485 deeds recorded in December 2010.

Petitions stayed the same in Melrose, with two filed in both December 2010 and 2011, while statewide petitions increased significantly in December, with a total of 1,009 recorded, a near 38 percent jump from 733 in December 2010.

Finally, Melrose had two foreclosure auction announcements in December, compared to three in December 2010, while the state had 1,135, a 5.5 percent increase from 1,076 during the same month in 2010.

In the press release, The Warren Group also note that in 2011, 3.8 percent of single-family home sales statewide were bank-owned properties, down from 6.5 percent in 2010. Also, bank-owned property sales of condominiums accounted for 3.5 percent of all condo sales statewide in 2011, down 5.6 percent from 2010.

"This statistic proves Massachusetts is faring better than the rest of the country. RealtyTrac's most recent report found foreclosures represented 20 percent of all home sales nationwide," Warren said in the press release. "While we're not completely out of the woods, it's promising to hear how well Massachusetts is doing relative to the national average."