Worcester County Leads State With 468 Foreclosures In July

Monday, August 27, 2012

Adam Joseph Drici, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

One in every 698 housing units in Worcester County received a foreclosure filing last month, according to new data from RealtyTrac.

City Hit Hardest

The city of Worcester topped the list in terms of number of foreclosures in July with 116, or one in every 645 units.

Fitchburg's 44 foreclosure filings put the town in second place for Central Mass, followed by Leominster with 25 filings and Shrewsbury with 21.

How Worcester County Compares

Middlesex County was home to the second most foreclosure filings in July, racking up 380 over the 31-day period.

Franklin County saw only 27 filings, or one in every 1250 housing units, the lowest number in the state. Hampshire County was not far behind with just 34 foreclosure filings for one in every 1841 units.

Foreclosure Numbers Fluctuating But Trending Up

Foreclosure activity was down significantly in June to below 1,300 filings after topping 1,700 in the months of April and May.

However, that number increased dramatically in July to over 2,500 filings.

"Foreclosure activity was so low last year that we're inevitably seeing a rise in foreclosures across the state," said Cory S. Hopkins, editorial director of The Warren Group, following the release of its findings earlier this year.

"It's necessary for a wave of foreclosures to work through the system this year, but it shouldn't cause panic," he said.

"In order to return to a healthier market, the backlog of distressed properties needs to be cleared from banks' books."

State Steps In

Last week, the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced more than $19 million in grants to staunch the steady stream of foreclosures throughout the Commonwealth.

“Our economy will never fully recover until we address the impact of the foreclosure crisis,” Coakley said.

The funds, part of the Attorney General's HomeCorps program, are intended to provide direct assistance to borrowers and revitalize communities and neighborhoods affected by the foreclosure crisis.

In Central Mass, Worcester Community Housing Resources Inc. will receive $275,000, the Fitchburg Division of Housing will get a $225,000 boost, the Town of Athol will add $150,000 to its coffers and the North Brookfield Board of Health will score an additional $20,000 for foreclosure relief efforts.

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