Foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts increased by just 0.7 percent in August compared with August 2015, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Lenders in Massachusetts filed 966 petitions to foreclose in August, compared with 959 filed in July of last year. There have been 8,614 petitions filed year to date in the Bay State, a 17.7 percent increase from last year’s mark through August with 7,319. Petitions mark the first step in the foreclosure process, when lenders file notice of their intention to foreclose with the Commonwealth’s Land Court.

“Foreclosure starts are finally starting to calm as the summer comes to a close,” Timothy Warren., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “To some extent improving economy, strong job creation and a robust real estate market have curtailed foreclosure starts. And perhaps the clogged pipeline of old delinquent mortgages has reached a steady or slower flow.”

There were 741 auction notices filed in August, a 31.8 percent increase from the 562 filed in August 2015. There have been 6,209 auctions scheduled in Massachusetts in 2016, a 42.7 percent increase from the same stretch in 2015 when there were 4,351. An auction notice is a legal advertisement that the lender has scheduled an auction and publicly announced the time, date and address in local newspapers.

There were 668 foreclosure deeds filed in August, a 74.4 percent increase from the 383 deeds filed in August 2015. There have been a total of 4,100 deeds recorded in Massachusetts year to date, a 46.5 percent increase from the 2,799 filed through August 2015. These deeds represent completed foreclosures, when lenders record a new deed at the Registry of Deeds indicating there has been a change in the ownership of the foreclosed property.