The Arizona Foreclosure Help Line, a project of the Arizona Department of Housing, burned telephone lines since its establishment in May 2008. As of the middle of November 2008, there were already more than 8,000 homeowners who have called the hotline to seek assistance and ask for guidance and counseling regarding their mortgage problems. The number backs the actual data showing that the volume of Arizona foreclosure homes has been rising steadily.

Data released by property tracking firm RealtyTrac indicate that in October 2008, about 17,500 homes were foreclosed in the state. That accounts for, brace yourself, a 35% rise from September and a whopping 176% surge from October 2007. It is not surprising that Arizona foreclosure homes are ranked as the second highest in all of the US. By the end of 2008, analysts estimate that one in every four households will be undergoing foreclosure in the state.

The state, just like the rest in the US, is aiming to implement new rules and policies to help curtail the uncontrollably rising foreclosures. Market observers note that it will take quite some time before the effects of the state initiatives are realized. Meanwhile, as the inventory of Arizona foreclosure homes continues to pile up, more prospective homebuyers and investors are expected to seize opportunities to acquire assets at very reasonable price tags.

Purchase transactions for foreclosed homes have been driving up the housing industry in the state. While many families are displaced and left homeless due to mortgage repossessions, many home investors snap up available homes and rent out the dwellings so that homeless families will have shelter. This way, intense impact of the economic downturn is greatly controlled.