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The number of Tucson-area foreclosures in the second quarter of 2008 more than doubled when compared to the same period the previous year, according to data released Friday by RealtyTrac.

The statistics suggest foreclosures are continuing to accelerate in Tucson this year, hurting even homeowners who aren't behind on payments, through decreased property values.

Foreclosures in April through June also spiked when compared to the first quarter of 2008; The number of foreclosures jumped 51 percent in the second quarter to 2,820.

"Based on the numbers we're seeing, we expect the foreclosures to increase at least through the end of this year," said Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac spokesman.

Homeowners with adjustable- rate mortgages who purchased homes in 2004 and 2005 with rates scheduled to reset in three years are seeing their house payments increase dramatically, and they often can't handle the expense, said John Strobeck, owner of Bright Future Business Consultants.

"It is, yes, a huge increase," Strobeck said. "But it's not totally unexpected."

Strobeck said because those rates won't reset in 2009, there may be a dip in foreclosures by the end of the year and into next year. But homeowners with rates that will reset in 2010 should look into financing options now, such as getting into a 30-year fixed mortgage.

One of every 148 households in the Tucson area was in foreclosure in the second quarter, RealtyTrac reported. That ranked Tucson 37th among the U.S. metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates. That was also up from one out of every 224 households in the first quarter this year, which ranked Tucson 54th, RealtyTrac reported.

In Friday's report, the Phoenix area, including Pinal County, ranked seventh, with one foreclosure for every 51 households.

Increasing numbers of families have been losing their homes throughout Arizona, said Monica Sandschafer, the head organizer of Arizona's Association for Community Reform Now, or ACORN.

Sandschafer said the rise was due to the number of risky loans people entered into, along with unemployment and income loss.

A home is often a family's best asset, and sliding back from that into a rental can be difficult, especially when a family has children, she said.

"People experience a wide variety of emotions — anxiety, stress, sadness, feelings of failure," she said.

Home foreclosures also have a negative impact for everyone in the market trying to sell a home, Strobeck said.

"It brings down the pricing because banks typically sell foreclosure homes at an extremely lower price because they aren't in the business of holding onto houses," he said.

Foreclosures also add to the inventory of homes on the market waiting to be sold, he said.

"This is something we're going to have to go through before we get to normality," Strobeck said.

Here are the metro areas with the worst rates, measured in number of households per foreclosure by RealtyTrac:

1. Stockton, Calif. 25

2. Riverside, Calif. 32

3. Las Vegas, Nev. 35

4. Bakersfield, Calif. 41

5. Sacramento, Calif. 49

6. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 51

7. Phoenix/Mesa 51

8. Oakland, Calif. 60

9. Fresno, Calif. 62

10. Miami, Fla. 62

37. Tucson 148