Contra Costa: Loan defaults rose by 180 percent

About 1,000 more mortgage default notices went out to Contra Costa County homeowners, while another 700 and about 500 showed up in Alameda and Solano county mailboxes respectively, signaling the highest rate of foreclosure activity in eight years, a real estate information service reported Wednesday.

Defaults rose by 179.3 percent, or 970, in Contra Costa County 157.2 percent, or 717, in Alameda County and 163 percent, or 484, in Solano County.

A notice of default is the first step in the foreclosure process, usually after a few missed payments.

Last month, the Center for Responsible Lending, reported that high-risk loans and "exploding ARMs" that have a steep payment increase after two years could lead to a foreclosure crisis. The center projected that about 19.4 percent of all subprime loans issued in 2005 and 2006 would end in foreclosure.