Initiated and completed foreclosures as well as foreclosure auction notices were all down significantly in April compared to a year ago, according to data released Tuesday morning, the State House News Service reported.
The Warren Group reported initiated foreclosures last month in Massachusetts were the highest so far this year, but were down almost 51-percent compared to April 2010 and are down by more than 58-percent over the first four months of 2011. Completed foreclosures fell more than 62-percent in April and are down more than 56-percent from a year earlier. And advertised auction noticed last month were down 51.7-percent over-the-year and are down 58-percent year-to-date.
“Lenders are still taking a cautious approach to foreclosures, and this is keeping foreclosure statistics at low levels for a while longer,” Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “This brief downturn should not sway us from the reality that the foreclosure crisis is not over, and we are likely to see more activity work its way through the system. The increase in petitions from March to April shows that foreclosure activity has picked up a bit again, and we are likely to see increases in coming months.”