More Mass. Numbers Show An April Rise In Foreclosures

More than 1,700 foreclosures were initiated in Massachusetts in April, the highest monthly number in nearly two years, according to real estate tracking firm the Warren Group.

The 1,750 foreclosure petitions represented a 47 percent increase over April 2011 and the highest number of Massachusetts petitions since September 2010, the Warren Group said.

Through the first four months of 2012, foreclosure petitions in the state are up 64 percent over last year's figures.

Analysts have said lenders are working through a backlog of paperwork problems, which led to fewer foreclosures last year.

"Foreclosure activity was so low last year that we're inevitably seeing a rise in foreclosures across the state," Cory Hopkins, the Warren Group's editorial director, said in a statement. "It's necessary for a wave of foreclosures to work through the system this year, but it shouldn't cause panic."

The Warren Group also found that completed foreclosures were up 19 percent in April, compared to the same month in 2011. So far this year, foreclosure deeds are up 30 percent, compared to last year.

The Warren Group's figures follow a separate survey from RealtyTrac two weeks ago, which also found total foreclosures up in Massachusetts in April.

As State House News Service reports, Tuesday's Warren Group figures come a week after the firm reported that both Massachusetts home prices and sales were up in April.