It’s just more of the mess that comes with a collapsing real estate market. L.A. County had a record-setting 21,632 notices of default in the second quarter, according to the latest Dataquick numbers, which is a 108.1 percent jump from a year earlier (surpassing the prior record during first-quarter 1996). But it also was the lowest percentage increase in Socal and one of the lowest in the state (in absolute numbers, it was the highest). One possible bit of hopeful news: The statewide results show only a 6.6 percent increase from the previous three months. "It's still very clear that most of the problems are in certain areas and in certain categories," said John Walsh, DataQuick president. "Basically, areas that absorbed spillover activity during the end of the boom cycle in 2006 seem to be the hardest hit. Prices went too high, fueled by the availability of easy-to-get dicey home loans. An added element was speculative buying." The Dataquick folks suspect that some lenders are working with borrowers instead of grinding through the foreclosure process. "Of course," Walsh said of the small increase, "they may just be swamped and can't handle processing any more paperwork."

Notices of Default// Houses and condos

County 2007Q2 2008Q2 Yr/Yr%
Los Angeles 10,393 21,632 108.1%
Orange 2,984 7,348 146.2%
San Diego 4,383 9,519 117.2%
Riverside 6,648 14,974 125.2%
San Bernardino 5,141 11,817 129.9%
Ventura 1,059 2,303 117.5%

San Francisco 257 418 62.6%
Alameda 1,612 3,812 136.5%
Contra Costa 2,316 5,046 117.9%
Santa Clara 1,275 3,751 194.2%
San Mateo 463 1,066 130.2%
Marin 118 284 140.7%
Solano 1,065 2,427 127.9%
Sonoma 462 1,376 197.8%
Napa 128 336 162.5%

Source: Dataquick