Foreclosures on Track To Top Last Year's Mark

Irvine, CA, July 15, 2010--More than 1 million American households may lose their homes to foreclosure this year, according to tracking firm RealtyTrac.

Nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year, a rate that is on track to surpass the more than 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009, RealtyTrac said.

"That would be unprecedented," said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

By comparison, lenders have historically taken over about 100,000 homes a year, Sharga said.

The pace at which new homes falling behind in payments and entering the foreclosure process has slowed as banks continue to let delinquent borrowers stay longer in their homes rather than adding to the glut of foreclosed properties on the market.

At the same time, lenders have stepped up repossessions in an effort to clear out the backlog of distressed inventory on their books.

The number of households facing foreclosure in the first half of the year climbed 8 percent versus the same period last year, but dropped 5 percent from the last six months of 2009, according to RealtyTrac.

In all, about 1.7 million homeowners received a foreclosure-related warning between January and June. That translates to one in 78 U.S. homes.