Stoneham Foreclosure Activity Down Last Year Compared to 2010

Matching a statewide year-over-year trend in decreased foreclosure activity, both the number of foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures in Stoneham  dropped considerably in 2011, while auctions were down as well, according to the latest data from The Warren Group.

In 2011, foreclosure deeds—which represent completed foreclosures—were filed against 15 Stoneham properties. That's down nearly 29 percent from the 21 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.

Meanwhile, foreclosure petitions, which are the first step in the foreclosure process, also saw a drop. In 2011, 31 petitions were filed against Stoneham properties, about a 34 percent decrease from the 47 filed in 2010.

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

Announced foreclosure auctions in Stoneham decreased significantly in 2011 compared to the previous year. In 2011 there were three foreclosure auction announcements in Stoneham, a 70 percent drop from 10 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 statement 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 statement."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 Foreclosure Activity During December, Stoneham Holds Steady

Despite the year-over-year trend, Massachusetts ended the year with a slight increase in foreclosure activity, while Stoneham's numbers stayed mostly steady year-over-year.

Stoneham had one completed foreclosure 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 remained the same in Stoneham, 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, Stoneham had no foreclosure auction announcements in December 2011 and 2010, while the state had 1,135, a 5.5 percent increase from 1,076 during the same month in 2010.

In the statement, 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 statement. "While we're not completely out of the woods, it's promising to hear how well Massachusetts is doing relative to the national average."