At least one million households are likely to lose their homes this year as lenders are working double-time to come after delinquent borrowers.

Data released by RealtyTrac Inc. showed that banks and mortgage companies are foreclosing homes at a very fast rate. On the first half of the year alone, lenders repossessed almost 528,000 homes. And with the growing number of borrowers who have fallen behind on their loan payments, industry experts believe that the figure could exceed the 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009.

“That would be unprecedented,” said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of the foreclosure listing service company. “The banks are really sort of controlling or managing the dial on how fast these things get processed so they can ultimately manage the inventory of distressed assets on the market.”

According to RealtyTrac, the number of homeowners facing foreclosure from January to June jumped 8% as compared to a year earlier. However, the figure fell 5% from the second half of 2009. In addition, about 1.7 million households, or about one in 78 homes, received a notice of foreclosure and other similar warnings in the first half of the year.

Market analysts warned that a new wave of foreclosures are expected to come in the second half of the year if the government would fail to address the growing unemployment rate and other related problems. They added that more Americans are likely to lose their homes unless the economy gets back on its feet.

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