Mass. foreclosures ease a bit in Nov.

Fewer Massachusetts residents lost homes to foreclosure in November than in October, though the number was considerably higher than a year earlier.

Warren Group, a publisher of real estate data, reported that 880 foreclosure deeds were recorded last month, an 11.6 percent reduction from 996 in October. The November figure was nearly 38 percent above the 638 cases in the same month a year earlier.

Foreclosure petitions dropped nearly 32 percent in November from October.

Warren Group chief executive Timothy Warren Jr. said the foreclosure crisis may be pushing lenders to work harder to modify loans and keep people in their homes.

ASSOCIATED PRESS