Home Foreclosures in 2010 Could Top Last Year's

With continued high unemployment, fears are growing that jobless Americans won't be able to keep up with mortgage payments, leading to a new wave of home foreclosures.

Those fears are compounded by the fact that a federal program aimed at keeping people in their houses hasn't been as effective as hoped, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The goal of the $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program, introduced last February, was to help banks make temporarily reduced mortgage payments permanent. But Obama administration officials concede the program has been slow to take off and they are considering revisions to make it more effective.

By the end of the year, economists predict 2.4 million borrowers could lose their homes, according to the Times. That would be an increase from 2.1 million foreclosures and short sales in 2009.