According to RealtyTrac, the number of U.S. households on the brink of losing their homes to foreclosure rose by nearly 15 percent in the first half of the year as more are getting unemployed and are unable to pay their monthly mortgage bills.

There were a total of 1,905,723 foreclosure filings which include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.

Of the filings, 1,528,364 U.S. properties in the first six months of 2009 were repossessed. An increase of 9 percent in total properties from the previous six months and almost 15 percent increase in total properties from the first six months of last year.

In June alone, 336,173 US properties received at least one foreclosure-related notice, according to the foreclosure listing firm’s report. That is one in every 380 U.S. homes and the fourth straight monthly total exceeding 300,000. Foreclosures jumped more than 33 percent in June compared with June 2008 and were up nearly 5 percent from May, RealtyTrac said.

Banks repossessed more than 79,000 homes in June, up from about 65,000 in May.

On a quarterly basis, in the second quarter, 889,829 U.S. properties received a foreclosure notice, an increase of nearly 11 percent from the previous quarter and a 20 percent increase from the second quarter of 2008. This made the second quarter of 2009 have the highest quarterly total since the first quarter of 2005, when RealtyTrac began issuing reports.

Foreclosure filings were reported on “In spite of the industry-wide moratorium earlier this year, along with local, state and national legislative action and increased levels of loan modification activity, foreclosure activity continues to increase to record levels,” noted James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “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. Stemming the tide of foreclosures is a critical component to stabilizing the housing market, so it is imperative that the lending industry and the government work in tandem to find new approaches to address this issue.”

Nevada, Arizona and Florida top the state foreclosure rates. Nevada tops the lists having more than 6 percent or one in every 16 household received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of 2009. A total of 68,708 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing from January to June, an increase of 23 percent from the previous six months and an increase of 61 percent from the first half of 2008.

Arizona registered the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate in the first half of 2009, with 3.37 percent of its housing units or one in 30 receiving at least one foreclosure filing, and Florida registered the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, with 3.08 percent of its housing units or one in 33 housing units receiving at least one foreclosure filing.