Boston’s foreclosure market has grown considerably in last year, according to RealtyTrac

Creative Commons: Das Nili, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Boston#mediaviewer/File:08_506.jpg

In the first half of 2015, foreclosure activity in the Boston metropolitan area jumped 29 percent from the same time period last year, according to RealtyTrac’s Mid-Year 2015 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

That’s the largest increase among the U.S.’ 20 largest metro areas, and is far ahead of the national decline of 4 percent.

Below is how Boston’s foreclosure market compares with other prominent metro areas:

Foreclosures Fall to Pre-Crisis Levels

Daren Blomquist, the vice president at RealtyTrac, said that overall foreclosure activity has now returned to pre-crisis levels.

“U.S. foreclosure starts have not only returned to pre-housing crisis levels, they have fallen well below those pre-crisis levels and are still searching for a floor,” Blomquist said. “Loans originated in the last five years continue to perform better than historic norms, with tighter lending standards and more cautious borrower behavior acting as important guardrails for the real estate boom of the past three years.”

Notable Massachusetts stats from RealtyTrac’s report included:

•The state of Massachusetts led the country with a 43 percent increase in foreclosure activity, compared to a 9 percent increase nationally. New York (up 31 percent), New Jersey (up 24 percent), Texas (up 21 percent) and Michigan (up 17 percent) rounded out the top five.

•Massachusetts also saw the biggest increase in foreclosure starts in the country, with a 141 percent year-over-year increase (far above the 4 percent increase nationwide).

•One area where The Bay State was not on top was REO activity, but its 109 percent year-over-year increase was still within the top five (and was nearly triple the national average of 36 percent). New Jersey (up 275 percent), Oregon (up 198 percent), New York (up 142 percent) and Texas (up 84 percent) also saw notable increases.