Despite months of moratoriums and the drop in foreclosures that came with them, 2010 still saw more foreclosures than ever, CNN reports, and more than 1 million homes were repossed and 2.9 million foreclosure filings made.

Yet as The Observer has been saying for months, things are bound to get worse before they get better. The Associated Press spells this out in a dour report on the coming year's foreclosure troubles:

The bleakest year in foreclosure crisis has only just begun.

Lenders are poised to take back more homes this year than any other since the U.S. housing meltdown began in 2006. About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages and more will miss payments as they struggle with job losses and loans worth more than their home's value, industry analysts forecast.

"2011 is going to be the peak," said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac Inc. The firm predicts 1.2 million homes will be repossessed this year by lenders.

mchaban@observer.com