Foreclosure petitions fell dramatically in the state of Massachusetts during the month of June. Data from The Warren Group suggests the decline is tied to rising home prices and legislation that's favorable to distressed borrowers.

The Boston Globe has more:

And 2006 was the year that the Warren Group, a Boston firm that tracks real estate data, started compiling foreclosure statistics. June 2013 foreclosure petitions were down 84 percent on a year-to-year comparison basis.

But while foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures, decreased more than 56 percent in June on a year-to-year basis, the June 2013 total was the highest monthly total so far this year, the Warren Group said.