Alarmed by a 50 percent jump in the number of homeowners falling into foreclosure last month, a group of real estate and financial professionals yesterday called for more state and local government action.

Fifteen brokers, agents and others attended a North Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce meeting on rising foreclosures and said federal action under consideration may not be enough. State and county governments may have to do more to address the major local symptom of a worsening national economic crisis.

"The biggest thing I've found is that these programs (the government) is trying to come up with are not going to stem...