Foreclosures on apartments fell by 25%

Mortgage foreclosures fell sharply again in Spain, despite the fact that rise in interest rates they feared some moderation in this downward trend. But it wasn’t like that. In total, in the first three months of the year, the number of foreclosures at the place of residence fell by 25.3 percent, while a total of 2,543 procedures were recorded.

It is true that the figure is still high, but it is already adding up four quarters down. If foreclosures on vacation homes are included, which fell by 27 percent to 587, the number of foreclosures dropped by 25.6 percent. And the collapse is even more substantial, with 31 percent to 3,693 foreclosures, if proceedings against legal entities are included, which also fell by 51.3 percent compared to the previous year, according to the data published yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics (INE).

Meaning

Experts agree that the fact that the general data is below 4000 executions can be seen as something positive, as in previous years the numbers were well above 5,000 in the same quarter. “On the other hand, contrary to what was happening, the 25% drop in executions at the place of permanent residence is the largest since the period of 2020, in which they were paralyzed by the pandemic,” says Ferán Font, director of the Pisos.com studio.

It is also reminded that “practically six out of every ten foreclosures on residential buildings refer to mortgages approved in the period 2004-2008”. Territorially, Andalusia, the Community of Valencia and Catalonia lead the ranking, which between the three represents more than 40% of executions. La Rioja and Navarra with 15 executions are at the bottom.

Despite this, home owners with Euribor-linked mortgages have faced serious difficulties in coping with the rise in the cost of their loans in recent months. At the end of the first quarter, the indicator averaged 3.6%, compared to -0.2% in March 2022. The average monthly mortgage went up by almost 300 euros.