Boston-Area Multifamily Home Foreclosures Skyrocketed Last Year

Boston–Foreclosures of multifamily residential buildings located in towns northwest of Boston escalated in 2007, the Boston Globe reported Thursday.Last year, lenders foreclosed on more than five times as many two- and three-family homes as in 2006, according to real estate data provider Warren Group. Local officials are preparing for an even worse year in 2008.The number of mortgages in foreclosure across the state last year–many of which included condominiums and two- and three-family homes–more than doubled from the year before. Lowell and Lawrence, Mass. together had more than 440 home foreclosures in 2007. The displacement of homeowners and tenants–along with the addition of vacant buildings to the neighborhood–have left community leaders struggling to handle the human and financial impact.Multifamily home foreclosures can affect communities more than single-family repossessions, said Lawrence housing manager Andrea Ryan. “For every homeowner, it means you have two or three tenants being pushed out,” Ryan said.