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IN THE NEWS Maryland rank: 10 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate February 2013 4.3% Unemployment Rate 4.0% 6.6% year ago 4.9% 3.9% 6.7% Massachusetts Sees Steep Drop in Foreclosure Activity in February year-over-year change -12.3% 2.0% -1.5% Top County SoMerSeT CounTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate February 2013 5.6% Foreclosure Rate 7.6% year ago 5.9% 7.2% year-over-year change -5.1% 5.9% Top Core-Based Statistical Area CAMBridge, Md 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate February 2013 5.3% 7.3% year ago 6.8% 5.7% year-over-year change -21.8% 27.5% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the February 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary February 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. Massachusetts rank: 29 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate February 2013 3.5% Unemployment Rate 2.4% 6.5% year ago 3.6% 2.6% 6.7% year-over-year change -1.9% -6.7% -3.0% Top County HaMpden CounTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate February 2013 5.8% Foreclosure Rate 3.8% year ago 5.4% 3.6% year-over-year change 6.7% 7.1% Top Core-Based Statistical area Springfield, Ma 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate February 2013 5.3% 3.6% year ago 5.0% 3.4% year-over-year change 7.5% 7.0% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the February 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary February 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. 94 Foreclosure activity in the Bay State plunged year-over-year in February, according to a report from the Warren Group. Foreclosure petitions, which mark the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts, fell by more than 38 percent to 856 in February, down from 1,394 in February 2012. The combined total for foreclosure starts in January and February stood at 1,796, down 34 percent from 2,727 during the first two months in 2012, The Warren Group reported. "Seeing four consecutive months of petitions below 1,000 is a promising sign," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. "The improved jobs picture and lenders' willingness to do short sales and loan modifications are helping to fuel the decrease. Hopefully this continues and improves consumer confidence as well." Foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures, declined nearly 69 percent to 240 in February. A year ago, foreclosure deeds numbered 767. So far this year, foreclosure deeds have fallen 66 percent to 532, down from 1,566 during the same period in 2012. Auction announcement also experienced a steep annual decline in February. The Warren Group found auction announcements totaled 330 in February, down 76 percent from 1,384 in February 2012. During the first two months of the year, announcements numbered 669, down 77 percent from 2,960 during the same period last year. Massachusetts Home Sales Decline After 13 Months of Increases Single-family home sales in Massachusetts were down year-over-year in February after 13 consecutive months of increases, the Warren Group reported. Home sales for February stood at 2,246, down 5 percent from 2,366 sales in February 2012. According to the real estate data provider, February marked the first decrease since December 2011. "Two factors caused this modest drop in February: low inventory and a comparison with a strong previous year of sales," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group. "Even so, I'm still hopeful for a strong spring market. As more sellers list their homes in the spring, activity will pick back up." While low inventory may have hurt sales, prices benefited from the lack of supply. The median price for a single-family home averaged $275,000 in February, up 12 percent year-over-year. "With such low inventory, we're seeing bidding wars—homes selling above the asking price," Warren said. "As prices rise, more sellers will begin to list their property, which, in turn, pumps up sales volume." Condominium sales managed to post a modest increase, rising just 1.4 percent to 925 condo sales during a 12-month period ending in February. The Warren Group also reported the median price for condos sold was up nearly 6 percent to $245,000. KNOW THIS At 440 days, Massachusetts has one of the longest GSEallowed timelines to foreclose among non-judicial states. Michigan rank: 39 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate February 2013 2.6% Unemployment Rate 1.5% 8.8% year ago 3.2% 2.4% 9.1% year-over-year change -18.1% -35.2% -3.3% Top County OsCOda COunTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate February 2013 3.5% Foreclosure Rate 2.9% year ago 3.4% 1.1% year-over-year change 4.0% 152.1% Top Core-Based statistical area COldwaTer, MI 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate February 2013 3.0% 2.9% year ago 2.6% 3.9% year-over-year change 13.1% -27.2% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the February 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary February 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics.

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