Statewide foreclosures soared 284 percent year over year in December, indicating just how hard Hawaii households were hit by the nation's severe economic downturn.

It is the sixth consecutive triple-digit increase in foreclosures, which totaled 499, or one in every 1,002 households last month, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

Hawaii fell one spot to No. 29 in December from the previous month in the national foreclosure rankings among the states. Still, Hawaii's increase in foreclosure activity for 2008 beat most other states, including California and Arizona - among the top states in the foreclosure ranking.

“;Other areas were hit earlier, and now the percentage increases we're seeing in Hawaii are bigger than even some of the states that are hardest hit,”; RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist said.

California reported a 110 percent increase in filings, while Arizona posted a 203 percent spike.

“;That indicates to me that Hawaii in a sense is doing a little bit of catch-up in foreclosures,”; he said.

The state reported in December 123 notices of defaults, 335 notices of trustee's sales and 41 properties that were repossessed by banks.

Among the counties, Maui had the highest foreclosure rate last month with one in every 589 households receiving foreclosure notice, followed by the Big Island with one in every 648 households and Kauai with one in every 787 households. Honolulu reported that one in every 1,392 households received a foreclosure notice during the month.

Hawaii ranked No. 34 among the states for 2008, with 3,185 properties under foreclosure, or one in every 157 households - a nearly 230 percent jump from 2007.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Hawaii recorded an 81 percent year-over-year increase for 2008 in helping “;families whose housing issues are at the core of their financial problems,”; according to Executive Director Wendy Burkholder.

“;That's enormous,”; she said.

The firm began seeing an uptick in 2006.

“;We're kind of the canary in the coal mine,”; Burkholder said. “;We start seeing the uptick long before it's a wave.”;

Volume was up 40 percent for 2008, although December's counseling numbers were slightly down from the previous month because many families chose to put off credit counseling services during the holiday season, she said.

Consumer Credit Counseling expects another 40 percent increase in volume in 2009. It anticipates counseling more than 3,000 families this year, up from 2,200 in 2008 and 1,400 in 2007.

Nationally, foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - were reported on 303,410 properties last month, a 17 percent increase from the previous month and 41 percent from December 2007. One in every 416 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.

State legislation that eased new foreclosure activity appeared to have worn off by December, according to RealtyTrac Chief Executive James Saccacio.

“;Clearly, the foreclosure prevention programs implemented to date have not had any real success in slowing down this foreclosure tsunami,”; he said.