All across Massachusetts, the rate of foreclosure activities in both city and local areas increased significantly this April but Chief Executive Officer of The Warren Group, Timothy Warren Jr. said that there is nothing to worry about this rise in foreclosure activity.
He said, “A 47 percent increase in petitions for foreclosure sounds alarming, but I don’t think it’s indicative of the real estate market falling apart.”
At this sudden rise, many local residents are worried, but Warren said that this increase is a resultant factor of year-long pending foreclosure cases of homeowners who were already delinquent at that time. The statewide report for foreclosure petitions showed that on a year over year basis, the rate of foreclosure petitions moved up to 1,750 in April 2012 from 1,191 in the previous year.
On the basis of the report released by the Warren group, there were nearly 37% more foreclosure petitions in Milford and Metro West areas this year compared to 2011. Although there was an increase in the petition numbers this year from 2011, the number was lower than April 2010 when it was 2,431. Along with an increase in foreclosure petitions, the rate of foreclosure deeds also increased by 29% locally and 19% statewide.
A representative of Hopkinton based Re/Max Executive Realty, Bill Gassett stated, “There’s still a lot of people struggling out there. Even though we’ve seen a general improvement in the real estate market, people are struggling with work.” Expecting that this situation will not change much in the coming couple of years, he added, “I just don’t think all of a sudden it’s going to change overnight.”
An attorney for foreclosure prevention and bankruptcy, Richard Ravosa stated that many people are unemployed, and some of them who are gradually getting deprived from unemployment benefits are facing severe problems in keeping up their loan repayment process.
He said, “It seems to come in waves. Banks will lay low for a period of months and all of a sudden come back with a vengeance.”
Pamela Wilderman, the Marlborough Code Enforcement Officer said that there are many properties in this city which are in foreclosure and are lingering on the verge of foreclosure for more than a year. It seems that the banks and lenders are also not interested in processing the paperwork for these properties. She added, “The longer it sits there, the more adept it is going to become at falling apart.”
However, according to Warren, the average home price of single-family residences increased this year to $275,000 from last year’s $272,000.
Photo by Renjith Krishnan.
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