The number of homes entering foreclosure between April and June more than doubled in the East Bay, San Mateo and San Joaquin Counties from the same time a year ago, according to numbers released Tuesday by DataQuick Information Services.

In Contra Costa County, lenders sent out 5,046 notices of default, a 118 percent increase from a year ago.

Some 3,812 notices went out in Alameda County, or 136 percent more. In San Mateo County lenders sent out 1,066 notices, a 130 percent hike.

San Joaquin County had 4,795 notices sent out, a 142 percent increase from a year ago.

However, from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2008, there was only slight increase in default notices sent out in the East Bay and in San Joaquin County while San Mateo County saw a sharp drop.

Notice of default, the first step in the foreclosure process, are sent out by lenders to homeowner who have missed several mortgage payments.

"The small increase in defaults from the first to second quarter may indicate that we're nearing a plateau. We won't know until the end the year, but it may be that some lenders are starting to prioritize workouts with homeowners instead of grinding things through the foreclosure process. Of course, they may just be swamped and can't handle processing any more paperwork," John Walsh, DataQuick president, said in a statement.

The majority of loans that went into default in the second quarter of 2008 were taken

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out between September 2005 and November 2006.