Editor's Note: A reporter's misunderstanding resulted in mis-statement of the actual number of foreclosures in this story, although the rate of foreclosures has increased as reported. That error is discussed by the reporter in a comment at the end of the story.

Property foreclosures in Yamhill County have soared this year, a trend mirroring the financial turmoil at the national level.

During the first 10 months, 566 local property owners have fallen so far behind in their mortgage payments that the lender has seized their properties for sale at public auction, a review of records at the Yamhill County Clerk's Office shows.

That's nearly double the rate for the same time period of 2007. By the end of October 2007, 285 homeowners had been struck by financial catastrophe.

Ten years ago, a dozen or so foreclosures a month was the norm. Foreclosures peaked right after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, climbing as high as 80 a month early in 2002.

In the ensuing years, the rate slowed. The county logged 476 foreclosures in 2005, then 369 in 2006 and 361 in 2007.

But starting around March, filings at the clerk's office began to soar past the typical 40 per month, climbing as high as 77 in August.

Filings lag behind only a few days, so it's possible to get a picture of what's happening this month. More than 30 foreclosures have been filed since Nov. 1, matching the number recorded during the entire month of November last year.

Clerk's office staffer Anita Mills said foreclosures tend to pile up toward the end of each month, so this month could very well end up with twice as many as last year. "I know there's been a big jump," she said.

Local statistics are consistent with statewide figures.

A recent report shows foreclosure rates in the Portland area doubling this year. At the same time, home sales have dropped.

Those figures come after national data, released Wednesday, showing the number of homeowners caught in the wave of foreclosures in October grew 25 percent nationally over the same month in 2007.

More than 279,500 American homeowners received at least one foreclosure-related notice in October, an increase of 5 percent from September, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

One in every 452 received a foreclosure filing, such as a default, auction or repossession notice, in October, RealtyTrac said. It said more than 84,000 properties were repossessed during the month.

A nasty brew of strict lending standards, falling home values and a tough economy is filtering through the housing market. By the end of the year, the company expects more than a million bank-owned properties to have spilled onto the market, representing around one third of all properties for sale in the U.S.

The collateral damage in the financial markets forced the government to pass a $700 billion financial rescue package last month.

The plan initially was to buy bad assets from banks, but Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday that the plan has evolved. Instead, the Treasury will buy stakes in banks and encourage them to resume normal lending.

- With reporting by Adrian Sainz of the Associated Press