BOSTON (AP) - New data shows that home foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts jumped nearly 67 percent last month compared with the same month a year earlier. That makes it 18 straight months the total has risen compared with the previous year. The Warren Group, a Boston-based publisher of real estate data, says there were nearly 2,200 petitions filed in July, up from about 1,300 a year ago. During the first seven months of this year, petitions also are up 67 percent from the same period in 2006. Petitions to foreclose are the first step in the foreclosure process and don't always end with the homeowner losing their home. But the process can often lead to an auction. Home auction announcements in Massachusetts rose 130 percent last month compared with July of last year.
