Some 3,116 Arizona properties entered some stage of foreclosure in February, a whopping 44.1 percent increase from the same month the year before, according to research firm RealtyTrac. That puts our state at No. 9 in the rankings of foreclosure activity — behind Nevada (No. 1), Colorado (No. 2) and Florida (No. 3).Nationally, 130,786 properties entered foreclosure last month, an 11.6 percent increase from February 2006. That’s roughly 1 foreclosure filing — default notice, auction sale, bank repossession — for every 884 U.S. households.The latest numbers don’t come as a surprise — or shouldn’t for those who have read any sort of story on the housing market within the last few months. Foreclosures are steadily on the rise across the country as more and more homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages watch their initial interest rates reset, sending their monthly payments skyrocketing.Local analysts I’ve talked to say Arizona is somewhat better off than other areas of the country because the economy here is strong and it’s continuing to grow.What do you think? Does our local housing market have yet to face an even more precipitous drop in prices?

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