Some 3,400 Sacramento County property owners faced foreclosure in the first quarter of 2007, up nearly 200 percent from the same period last year.

In sheer volume of defaults, Sacramento County is in the top ten nationwide.

The figures from Fair Oaks-based Foreclosures.com represent filings from lenders against homeowners who've defaulted on their loans. A notice of default is the first step before the homes can be sold at auction.

The hardest-hit county in California based on percentage was Yolo, with a nearly 400-percent increase from the year before.

San Joaquin, Solano and Yuba counties all experienced at least a 200-percent increase in defaults.

California led the country in both defaults with 49,016 year to date and auctions with 25,023 year to date, according to Foreclosures.com.

Both numbers are up substantially from the same time last year, 139 percent and 277 percent respectively.