Foreclosures: Worst still to come, experts say

Phoenix had a staggering 534 percent increase in foreclosures in the first half of 2008, and it appears the worst may be yet to come.

The percentage gain represents an increase of about 5,000 homes foreclosed from year to year, according to data provided by Information Market.

"This is not surprising," said Phoenix City Councilman Claude Mattox, who represents the hardest-hit areas of the city. "We're well aware of the problem, and we are doing all we can to mitigate it."

The real tidal wave may be yet to come.

Phoenix had 12,573 foreclosure notices for the first half of the year, and experts say more than half of them are likely to become foreclosures.

The hardest-hit parts of town were the west and southwest sides, where increases of 700 percent or more were common. Only one other area, the eastern portion of northeast Phoenix's Desert Ridge, had a similar increase, but it had far fewer foreclosures.