LOS ANGELES — The number of California homes lost to foreclosure in the first quarter surged 327% from year-ago levels — reaching an average of more than 500 foreclosures per day — DataQuick said in a report, warning that the widening foreclosure problem could ‘spread beyond the current categories of dicey mortgages, and into mainstream home loans.’ From DataQuick’s report on California foreclosures in the first three months of 2008: ‘Trustees Deeds recorded, or the actual loss of a home to foreclosure, totaled 47,171 during the first quarter. … Last quarter’s total rose 48.9 percent from 31,676 in the previous quarter, and jumped 327.6 percent from 11,032 in first quarter 2007.’ That translates into 517 foreclosures every day in the first quarter of 2008. DataQuick president Marshall Prentice: ‘The main factor behind this foreclosure surge remains the decline in home values. Additionally, a lot of the ‘loans-gone-wild’ activity happened in late 2005 and 2006 and that’s working its way through the system. The big ‘if’ right now is whether or not the economy is in recession. If it is, the foreclosure problem could spread beyond the current categories of dicey mortgages, and into mainstream home loans.’ […]