October 23, 2007 (LPAC)--Foreclosure auctions across Massachusetts exploded by 149% during the first eight months of 2007 as compared to the same period in 2006, the Boston Globe reported on Oct. 21. This statewide average of a 149% increase in auction filings is far exceeded in three counties: in Essex Co. they grew 188%; in Middlesex Co., 204%; and in Suffox Co., 152%, according to data released by the Boston-based real estate tracking firm The Warren Group. Overall, 36 communities north of Boston have seen a tripling of foreclosures.

"You can see that it's a crisis. It's starting to take on a life of its own," John L. O'Brien, registrar of deeds for southern Essex Co. said. Some of the worst hit communities, listed by the Globe are: Lynn, MA, had 200 homes hit the auction block this year -- triple its 65 foreclosures in the same nine-month period in 2006; Haverhill, 107 homes were auctioned, more than double last year; and Revere had 69 homes auctioned compared with 27 last year.

This tidal wave of foreclosures will not be arrested by temporary quick fix consumer counseling or lender refinancing schemes. The $20 trillion housing bubbling is bursting and the banking system, loaded with $10.36 trillion in mortgage loans, will soon follow. Trying to renegotiate all the mortgages is utter folly. It is time for Lyndon LaRouche's Homeowners and Bank Protection Act.