Unemployment overtakes subprime mortgages

Unemployment has become a more significant driver of foreclosures than subprime mortgages, bankers and economists said, which will make the foreclosure crisis even more complicated. About 1.8 million borrowers are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year, compared to 1.4 million last year, according to Moody’s Economy.com. Home losses due to unemployment are harder to address, economists said, because it is easier to work with lenders to modify mortgages than to create jobs for struggling homeowners.