Medford Foreclosures Double in April Compared to Last Year

Twice as many foreclosure actions were taken this April in Medford compared to the same month last year, according to recently released real estate data.

A total of ten foreclosures petitions were filed in Medford in April, doubling the five that were filed in April 2011, according to data from The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate publisher.

Through April this year, 25 foreclosure petitions had been filed in Medford, up slightly from 20 filed in the same span in 2011, according to the data.

Medford's numbers are in line with state trends, as Massachusetts saw the number of foreclosure petitions statewide rise 47 percent year-over-year to 1,750 from 1,191 in April 2011, a Warren Group press release said. Over 6,000 foreclosure petitions had been filed statewide through April, a 64 percent spike compared to the first four months of 2011, the release said.

In a written statement, Warren Group Editorial Director Cory Hopkins said the rise was inevitable.

"Foreclosure activity was so low last year that we're inevitably seeing a rise in foreclosures across the state," Hopkins said. "It's necessary for a wave of foreclosures to work through the system this year, but it shouldn't cause panic. In order to return to a healthier market, the backlog of distressed properties needs to be cleared from banks' books."