Foreclosure activity in Massachusetts increased significantly during the month of March, according to the latest report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. The number of foreclosures initiated by lenders jumped 22 percent from the prior month and 8 percent from a year earlier.

Lenders filed 2,581 petitions to foreclose in March, a 21.6 percent increase from 2,122 in February and 8.4 percent more than the 2,381 petitions filed in March 2009. A total of 6,577 petitions to foreclose have been filed in Massachusetts during the first quarter, a slight decrease from 6,636 in the first quarter of last year. Petitions to foreclose represent the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts.

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