Two thousand seven hundred and nineteen. That is how many Massachusetts properties received at least one foreclosure filing in the first six months of 2026. The number is up 3.23 percent from the same period in 2025, but it is also down 20.29 percent from the first half of 2024. Both comparisons matter.
Put the number next to the size of the state and it looks different again. Massachusetts recorded one filing for every 1,115 housing units. Nationally, the rate was one in 632, and filings increased 21.26 percent from 2025. Massachusetts had a lower filing rate and a much smaller annual increase than the country as a whole.
I get two kinds of calls when a foreclosure headline runs. One is from an owner who is falling behind and thinks an auction is days away. The other is from a buyer who assumes rising filings mean a wave of cheap houses is coming. The data supports neither conclusion. It does show real financial trouble for thousands of households, so the details deserve more care than the headline usually gets.
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The number, and the number it is not
ATTOM counts a property once when it receives a default notice, scheduled-auction notice, or bank-repossession filing during the reporting period. The 2,719 figure is not 2,719 completed foreclosures. It combines several stages of the process.
The comparison with 2024 is the most important correction to the story. Massachusetts filings increased slightly from 2025, but remained roughly one fifth below 2024. Nationally, filings increased 28.25 percent over those same two years. The evidence supports a modest Massachusetts increase from last year, not a new Massachusetts high.
A second dataset helps separate an early warning from a completed loss. The Massachusetts Housing Partnership Housing Stability Monitor, using Warren Group data through December 2025, reported that statewide foreclosure petitions fell 13.9 percent from 2024 to 2025. It also counted 433 foreclosure deeds and 1,960 petitions from July through December 2025, or roughly one deed for every five petitions. ATTOM filings, Land Court petitions, and foreclosure deeds measure different stages and different time periods. They should not be treated as interchangeable.
Why this is different from 2008
Home equity is one of the clearest differences. In ATTOM’s first-quarter 2026 national report, 3.2 percent of mortgaged properties were seriously underwater. That means the secured loans were at least 25 percent greater than the estimated property value. In the second quarter of 2012, the same national measure was 28.6 percent.
The same 2026 report found that 43.3 percent of mortgaged properties nationally were equity-rich, meaning the loan balances were no more than half of the estimated value. These are national figures, not Massachusetts figures. They provide useful context, but they do not tell us the equity position of any particular Massachusetts owner.
That contrast does not make an individual foreclosure harmless. It means the current national equity backdrop is much stronger than it was during the housing crash. An owner with equity may have more options than an owner who owes more than the property is worth. The actual options still depend on the mortgage, liens, property value, income, and time remaining.
What the data does not tell us
ATTOM does not identify one cause for the Massachusetts increase. Its report describes a national return toward more typical foreclosure patterns and notes that some owners may be facing greater financial strain. It does not say that adjustable-rate loans, home-equity lines, taxes, or insurance caused the Massachusetts change.
Those costs can still matter to an individual household. HUD lists payment increases, job loss, divorce, medical expenses, taxes, and other changes among the reasons an owner may struggle. Boston property taxes are one local illustration. The residential tax rate moved from $11.58 to $12.40 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2026. City officials projected that the average single-family homeowner would pay about $780 more, an increase of roughly 13 percent.
Where recent Massachusetts petitions were highest
The older Gateway Cities percentages that are often repeated online come from a 2014 MHP report. They should not be presented as current. MHP’s latest Housing Stability Monitor was posted in May 2026 and uses Warren Group data through December 2025.
That report found that Massachusetts petitions fell 13.9 percent in 2025 and remained below pre-pandemic rates. The regional pattern was uneven. MHP observed low petition rates in the inner-ring suburbs around Greater Boston, while Springfield, Gardner, Brockton, Fitchburg, Norton, and Holyoke posted the highest rates among communities with more than 2,500 owner households during the latest six-month period.
Petitions per 1,000 owner households
Petitions per 1,000 owner households
What this means for a buyer
A statewide filing increase does not establish that discounted inventory is coming to a particular town. ATTOM’s number covers the entire state and several stages of foreclosure. MHP’s newer local data shows meaningful differences by community.
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A foreclosure auction also is not the same as a normal discounted listing. Buyers may face title issues, limited property access, no inspection, an occupied property, strict deposit rules, and competition from experienced cash investors. A buyer considering one should use a Massachusetts attorney and understand the auction terms before bidding. For most people looking in Greater Boston, careful preparation for ordinary inventory remains more useful than waiting for a statewide foreclosure wave.
Our buyer guidance covers the normal purchase process. The investment-property section is the better starting point for anyone evaluating a distressed asset as a business decision.
For an owner falling behind, the current Massachusetts clock
The first step is to read every notice and contact the servicer and a neutral housing counselor immediately. The current text of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 244, Section 35A provides a 90-day right to cure for a qualifying principal residence with four or fewer households. It excludes investment property and residential property used as collateral for a commercial loan. The statutory right is available once in a five-year period.
The cure notice must be delivered by hand or sent by first-class and certified mail. It must state the default, the amount required to cure, the deadline, and available assistance. If a foreclosure proceeds under a power of sale, Section 14 requires the notice of sale to be published once in each of three successive weeks, with the first publication at least 21 days before the sale. It also requires mailed notice at least 14 days before the sale. Other federal and state servicing, loss-mitigation, and legal requirements may apply. The actual notices and advice from a qualified attorney control the individual timeline.
If keeping the home is not workable, compare a sale early
A sale is one option, not the automatic first answer. Reinstatement, a repayment plan, forbearance, or a loan modification may allow an owner to keep the home. A HUD-approved counselor can review those possibilities without selling a financial product or earning a real estate commission.
If those options are unavailable or unaffordable, an open-market sale may give the owner more control over marketing, price, and timing than an auction. Whether it works depends on the property’s value, mortgage payoff, taxes, liens, condition, selling expenses, and the available time. Ask an attorney or title professional to identify liens and obtain a written net sheet before making the decision.
Missed payments can still affect credit even if the property is sold before foreclosure. Owners also should be cautious about anyone who charges an upfront fee, guarantees a loan modification, asks for the deed, or pressures them to sign immediately. Mass.gov warns that those offers may be fraudulent.
Full disclosure matters here. I am a real estate broker, so I can help evaluate the sale option. A HUD-approved housing counselor is the neutral first call. Our seller resources explain the ordinary sale process, but they are not a substitute for legal or housing-counseling advice.
Where to get help now
Call the mortgage servicer’s loss-mitigation department and keep written records of every conversation and document. For free foreclosure counseling, use HUD’s housing counselor locator or call 800-569-4287. HUD also lists the Homeowners HOPE Hotline at 888-995-HOPE.
Massachusetts homeowners can read the Division of Banks’ foreclosure guidance. The Attorney General’s HomeCorps Loan Modification Hotline is 617-573-5333. If a scheduled foreclosure is imminent, contact a qualified Massachusetts attorney immediately.
What I am actually telling people
The evidence supports a narrow conclusion. Massachusetts foreclosure filings increased 3.23 percent from the first half of 2025, but remained 20.29 percent below the first half of 2024. The state’s filing rate was well below the national rate. Separate MHP data shows that Massachusetts petitions fell in 2025 and that most petitions in its latest study period did not end in a foreclosure deed.
That is not a reason to dismiss an owner who is behind. It is a reason to avoid turning a complicated, personal problem into a crash headline or an investment pitch. Get neutral help early, identify the actual stage of the process, and make decisions from the notices, the numbers, and qualified advice.
Sources
- ATTOM, Mid-Year 2026 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.
- ATTOM, Q1 2026 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report.
- ATTOM, historical U.S. underwater and equity-rich table.
- Massachusetts Housing Partnership, Housing Stability Monitor, posted May 14, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 244, Section 35A, current 90-day right to cure.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 244, Section 14, power-of-sale notice requirements.
- Mass.gov, Avoiding Foreclosure for Massachusetts Consumers.
- Mass.gov, Preventing Foreclosure.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Counseling.
- GBH News and the Boston City Council resolution, 2026 residential property-tax figures.
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