At the present pace, we will have more foreclosures in Massachusetts in 2008 than in any previous year. Way more than the previous record set back in the early 1990s.

Eight hundred sixty Massachusetts families lost their homes to foreclosure in February. Eight hundred lost homes in January. That's 1,660 foreclosures during the first two months of the year, compared to only 700 foreclosures during the first two months of 2007. The numbers are new from Warren Group.

We are wired to notice new things. Last year was new. After a long period of stability, the number of foreclosures suddenly was rising. This year is just worse. And we have a hard time paying the proper amount of attention when things just get worse. It tends to produce headlines such as, "Foreclosures continue to rise," which tend to run inside the paper.

But this is worth your attention. Forget about sympathy for the borrowers, or the lenders, or those poor government officials busily discussing the possibility of proposing the idea of considering reforms. Think only of yourself.

Last year, there were 942 resales of foreclosed single-family homes and condos in Massachusetts, accounting for 1.3 percent of all open-market sales. Those properties sell at a discount, which punishes your property's value. Now we've got another 1,660 properties that need to be sold.

And counting.