HONOLULU -- The wave of real estate foreclosures on the mainland may at last be coming ashore in Hawaii.

Local foreclosure investors said there has been a big rise in foreclosure notices in recent months.

Hawaii still has one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the nation, but local investors said that for the first time in years, there are significant numbers of foreclosures happening. Although if an auction on Friday was any indication, real bargains are still extremely hard to come by.

"Not that we are looking for people to go under, but an opportunity is an opportunity," foreclosure investor Stephanie Apodaca said.

Apodaca drove into downtown Honolulu from Kapolei for an unusually large number of foreclosure auctions scheduled for Friday.

About 40 people surrounded the lenders' representative. The upset bid of $80,000 for a leasehold walk-up in Waikiki was too high for all but one bidder, who won with $81,000.

It ended up being the only real auction of the day. All of the others were either canceled or attracted no bidders other than the bank.

It was another wasted trip to town for Apodaca.

"We've been doing this for a steady four months," she said.

Regulars say most of the auctions get postponed or canceled because the homeowners find a way at the last minute to save their property. The foreclosure investors believe there will be more auctions as the market cools and risky mortgages take their toll.

"Six months ago, we were looking at maybe 30 foreclosures a month. Today, we are looking for 100 new foreclosures a month," foreclosure investor Courtney Brown said.

Experts said foreclosure investment is risky with hidden costs, tenant troubles and cutthroat competition.

"It's a significant gamble, and you are gambling significant amount of money," Brown said.