WESTFIELD — A new report finds that foreclosure activity continues to fall significantly in Massachusetts.
The Warren Group said Tuesday that foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process, fell 84 percent in June compared to the same month a year ago. The 245 petitions recorded in June were the lowest since the group began compiling the statistics in 2006.
The number of foreclosure deeds, representing a completed foreclosure, fell 56 percent in June compared to the same month last year.
Timothy Warren, chief executive of the Warren Group, says fewer homeowners are finding themselves hopelessly underwater on their mortgages.
Over the first six months of the year, the report said there were 2,943 petitions to foreclose filed in Massachusetts, compared to 9,425 during the same six-month period in 2012.
According to Ted Cassell of Park Square Realty, there are currently only 5 bank owned homes in Westfield and a great increase in activity from last year.
“We’re seeing fewer bank owned homes, especially in Westfield,” said Cassell, whose company also has branch offices in Feeding Hills and Springfield. “Prices are going up. People are able to sell now.”
With an average price increase of $20,000, Cassell’s business has increased by 35 percent this year and shows no signs of slowing up.
“I think it can sustain for the rest of the year. Rates are up, people are looking at homes, and there seems to be a lot of pent up interest.” he said. “People don’t want to miss out, and there are upper end homes in the $150,000-600,000 price range finding their way onto the market.”
While not as doggedly optimistic, Westfield Community Development Director Peter Miller is also encouraged by the decline in foreclosure.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Miller said. “The real estate market has improved, and it’s good news that fewer houses are being initiated for foreclosure.”
Miller referenced a bill passed by Beacon Hill in November of 2012 aimed at foreclosure prevention, which looked to change banks’ foreclosure process.
“(The market) has been in a depressed position and it has certainly improved over the last five years.” Miller said.
Grace Sullivan, who chairs the City of Westfield’s Board of Assessors, believes that the market is improving, but it is not without a few catches of its own.
“The caveat is interest rates,” she said. “They’re down right now, which impacts first time buyers. I think it’s become a seller’s market again.”
