Last month's foreclosure numbers from RealtyTrac rocketed into the stratosphere, more than tripling in King County from September and from the previous October. Definitely depressing news after September's positive numbers.

Specifically, 935 homes in King County were issued a "notice of trustee sale," which means auction dates were set for them. That number is 3 1/2 times what it was in September (260 notices) and nearly 3 1/3 times the number in October 2007 (282 sales set).

Including properties that received notices of default (when documents are filed with the county because homeowners have missed payments for at least three straight months) and those that have been returned to lenders, foreclosures have hit one in every 652 households in King County. In September, that ratio was 1 in 1,630.

Snohomish and Pierce counties' numbers were equally bad, based on percentage increases:

-- Snohomish County saw 459 auction-sale notices, triple what they were in September and nearly double the number from October 2007.

-- In Pierce County, auction-sale notices numbered 1,121, about 3 1/2 times the number in September and more than double the October 2007 number.

Kitsap County, on the other hand, fared better, with sale notices filed for 59 homes last month, up from 49 in September but down by half from the previous October, when 120 auction dates were set.

Nationwide, auction-sale notices rose 8 percent from September and 13 percent from October 2007. But that doesn't mean the Puget Sound area is much worse off than the U.S. as a whole.

As economist Joe Cortright said at last week's 2009 housing forecast breakfast, we were "late to the party, didn't get as drunk and won't be as hung over."

In other words, we have a long way to go to catch up, and we probably won't.