Mass. Foreclosures Up 6 Percent In Oct.

New numbers show a jump in foreclosure activity in Massachusetts, reversing a more than yearlong trend.

The number of foreclosure petitions — the first part of the foreclosure process — rose nearly 6 percent last month, compared to the year before.

That's the first year-over-year jump in petitions in more than a year.

Timothy Warren, head of the realty tracking firm The Warren Group, says rising foreclosures will be the new trend as banks work through a backlog of defaults.

"They've been under a lot of pressure to correct a lot of problems with the foreclosure process and that has led them to double check their paperwork and to proceed with some degree of caution," Warren said.

"Given the state of the economy and the jobs picture not improving dramatically over the next year, I'd have a hard time believing that we won't see foreclosure activity gradually rise."