A decline in filings, not the disappearance of distress
A 2017 ATTOM report described approximately 77,000 foreclosure filings in April, down 7% from the preceding month and 23% from a year earlier. Its coverage represented roughly 90% of the U.S. population. Foreclosure starts were reported at their lowest level since November 2005, offering a comparison with the years before the housing crisis.
Filings and starts measure different steps in a foreclosure process. A decrease in either does not establish that every affected owner recovered, that a property sold at a discount or that financial distress had ended.
Boston and Massachusetts were separate comparisons
The November 2017 archive also described a September Boston rate of one foreclosure for every 4,526 properties. It compared a Boston active-foreclosure figure of 0.02% with 0.06% for Massachusetts and 0.05% nationally. These are dated measures, not a count of properties offered for purchase today.
Other passages discussed rising filings in a different Boston and Massachusetts comparison. That observation cannot be combined with the April national decline as though every number came from the same month, geography and stage of foreclosure.
Reverse mortgages remained part of the discussion
The reporting considered older homeowners, property-tax and insurance obligations, and losses associated with federally insured reverse mortgages. It raised questions about borrowers who had used home equity but still faced expenses required to keep their homes. Those concerns were distinct from the broader filing trend.
The figures record a historical market discussion. They do not prove a single cause for the decline, guarantee protection from default or establish the condition, ownership or availability of any individual property.
Historical attribution: Original Boston City Properties article, November 2017. Reported claims and attributed assessments have not been independently refreshed.