WASHINGTON — The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes soared by nearly 15 percent in the first half of the year as more people lost their jobs and were unable to pay their monthly mortgage bills.

The mushrooming foreclosure crisis affected more than 1.5 million homes in the first six months of the year, according to a report released this morning by the foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac.

The data show, despite the Obama administration's plan to encourage the lending industry to prevent foreclosures by handing out $50 billion in subsidies, the nation's housing woes continue.

Experts don't expect foreclosures to peak until the middle of next year.

Foreclosure filings rose more than 33 percent in June compared with the same month last year and were up nearly 5 percent from May, RealtyTrac said.

More than 336,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice in June, according to the foreclosure listing firm's report. That works out to one in every 380 U.S. homes.

It was the fourth consecutive month in which more than 300,000 households received a foreclosure filing, which includes notices that homeowners receive before they finally lose their homes.

Banks repossessed more than 79,000 homes in June, up from about 65,000 a month earlier.