Arizona jumps to No. 2 in nation for foreclosures

Arizona now has the second-highest foreclosure rate in the nation, according to the latest report from Realty-Trac.

"Arizona had one in every 149 housing units receiving a foreclosure notice during the month of October," said Realty-Trac's Daren Blomquist.

"There was an increase of 35 percent from the previous month, and foreclosure activity was up 176 percent from October of 2007."

For several months, Arizona had ranked fourth-highest. Blomquist said the reason it jumped into the No. 2 spot is because other states, like California, have taken action.

In California, he said, the state has passed legislation "at least temporarily lowering the number of foreclosure filings that are actually happening because that state legislation is giving homeowners an extra window of time to try to work something out and avoid foreclosure."

The top zip codes for foreclosure activity in Arizona are in Tolleson, Queen Creek and Buckeye.