Mass. housing recovery years off

As state and local officials grapple with how to resolve the local foreclosure crisis, housing problems continue to spread into rural and suburban areas, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership report said. The foreclosure crisis started in urban areas several years ago and has spread outward as more homeowners were hit with unemployment and cuts in pay. For the third straight quarter, more than half of the state’s distressed units — those in the foreclosure process or already bank-owned — are in suburban and rural areas, the report said. For example, the towns of Winchendon, Randolph, and North Brookfield are among the top five communities in the state with the highest concentration of distressed properties, according to the housing partnership.

Steve Bennett, a Jamaica Plain foreclosure prevention counselor, said he has noted a drop in the number of calls from financially stressed homeowners. He believes it’s partly due to a long-awaited effort by banks to help more homeowners with loan modifications. But Bennett said he knows the economy has not improved enough to make the issue go away.

Lewis Finfer, executive director of the Boston housing advocacy group Massachusetts Communities Action Network, said homeowners appreciate the extra time to get their finances in order while lenders work out their procedures. But he said they worry that they’ll never get enough help to ultimately save their homes. “People feel the sword is hanging over their necks,’’ he said.

Jenifer B. McKim can be reached at jmckim@globe.com.