Foreclosure activity is slowing in Massachusetts, according to the latest report by the Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data and research.

Lenders filed 1,048 petitions to foreclose in the Bay State during March, a 59.4 percent decrease from March 2010. During the first three months of 2011, 2,535 petitions to

foreclose were filed in Massachusetts, a 61.5 percent decrease from the first quarter of last year.

“Another month of declining foreclosures is a sign that lenders have adopted a ‘go-slow’ approach to foreclosures,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group. “We haven’t seen a drastic improvement in the housing market to signal the foreclosure crisis is over. There are likely more foreclosures in the pipeline, which will come to the surface in coming months.”

Foreclosure deeds also dropped in March, declining 60.3 percent to 552 from 1,391 in March 2010. Foreclosure deeds totaled 1,593 in the first quarter of 2011, a 53.8 percent drop from the same period last year.

Foreclosure activity declined in every county in the state last month except Nantucket County.

Auction announcements fell in March to 1,172 from 3,094 last year, a 62 percent decrease. Seven of those auction announcements were in Nantucket County, up from two in March 2010, according to the Warren Group.