At a time when the nation could use some good news about the economy, a real estate tracking firm reports a staggering new round of glum statistics about home losses in the United States. During the first half of this year, a record number of properties – 1.53 million – were in foreclosure or about to be foreclosed, RealtyTrac reported this morning. Alarmingly, that is nearly 10 percent more than the previous six months and about 15 percent more than during the same period last year. “What this means is, despite the intensity of the efforts on the part of government and lenders we don’t have a handle on foreclosures yet,” Rick Sharga, a spokesman for RealtyTrac, told CNNMoney.com. Perhaps the worst thing about the findings that that there were 1.91 million foreclosure filings – which equals about one of every 84 U.S. properties – is what it portends for the likelihood of an imminent housing recovery. There was no recorded improvement for June, the last month of the cycle. “More than 336,000 homes reported foreclosure filings, the fourth straight 300,000-plus month, CNNMoney.com reports, noting that filings were up 33 percent over last June and nearly 5 percent compared with May. “Foreclosure activity continues to increase to record levels,” James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement. “Unemployment-related foreclosures account for much of this increased activity, and the high number of borrowers who find themselves owing more on their mortgages than their homes’ are now worth represent a potentially significant future risk.” The raging recession is apparently the most powerful dynamo behind the housing problems. As more and more workers lose their jobs, the number of borrowers who are unable to make their payments grows. And, as home prices continue to tumble, an increasing number of homeowners owe more than their homes are worth, which in turn discourages some borrowers from repaying their loans.

Americans are losing their homes at an astronomical rate, a new report shows. Compared to last year, 32 percent more people lost their homes. And for those residing in Nevada, Florida and California, the rate of foreclosures was even worse. Nationally, more than 342,000 households – about one in every 374 homes – got at least one warning in April about possible foreclosures on their homes, RealtyTrac Inc. told The Associated Press. Also, according to the California-based foreclosure-listing firm, April marked the second straight month with more than 300,000 households getting a foreclosure filing. “We’ve never seen two consecutive months like this,” Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac’s senior vice president for marketing, told AP. “It’s the volume that’s surprising.” While American homeowners of all races have been slammed by declining home prices, low employment opportunities and overall economic malaise have hit African Americans and Latinos the hardest.

The government’s plan to buy up, repair and sell distressed properties to poor and middle-income buyers is frozen in red tape and policy debate among local officials, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program, introduced last July, was designed as a rapid response to escalating foreclosures by injecting billions in emergency aid to local governments. But, as in the case of Atlanta, which has one of the nation’s worst foreclosure rates, local officials say the first property will not get bought and the first auction will not even take place until June. And don’t expect any notable results until late summer, at the earliest, the newspaper reports. But community leaders say that foreclosures are spreading like a brush fire, scarring once-beautiful neighborhoods with abandoned homes – and there’s no end in sight. Between July and December 2008, home sales dipped an astounding 16 percent in Metro Atlanta’s five core urban counties, according to a study by the Dirty Truth Campaign, a local nonprofit group. “We wish things would move faster,” said Robert Welsh, of Dirty Truth, which tracks the effects of foreclosure in Pittsburg, Sylvan Hills and other southwest Atlanta neighborhoods. “It’s a big problem, but at this point, we’ve got to roll with what they have going.”

Fannie and Freddie hold off on foreclosures. Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have delivered an early holiday present to some struggling homeowners. They’re suspending foreclosures for about 16,000 households during the holidays, reports The Associated Press. The two companies said Thursday that they will halt foreclosure sales between Nov. 26 and Jan. 9, while they evaluate whether the borrowers qualify for a new loan program announced last week that could possibly reduce their payments. Fannie Mae said about 10,000 households would be affected, while Freddie Mac said the changes would affect about 6,000 borrowers who are facing foreclosure. The change only applies to owner-occupied homes. 

Unemployment reaches a 16-year high. As the number of people without a job reaches a 16-year high, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to extend unemployment benefits an additional 6 weeks. President George Bush’s spokesperson indicated Thursday that the president will sign the extended unemployment benefits bill. “Because of the tight job market the president believes it would be appropriate to further extend unemployment benefits, and he would sign legislation that is now in front of Congress,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Thursday. The news comes just as the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time hit a 16-year high last week, pushing the number of jobless citizens receiving this type of government help to its highest level in 26 years. The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims for the week ended Nov. 15 went up by 27,000. That pushed the number of unemployment claims to 542,000, up from 515,000 the previous week.