Home foreclosures increase 3.4% until March and reach five-year highs

Foreclosures of habitual residences -repossessions of a property for sale after the default of a loan- rose 3.4% year-on-year in the first quarter to reach 3,320, the highest figure in five years since the first quarter of 2017.

The number of foreclosures on habitual residences stood at 3,320 in the first quarter, a figure that represents an increase of 3.4% compared to the same period in 2021 and 2.8% compared to the previous quarter, according to the foreclosure statistics mortgages published today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

The total number of foreclosures initiated and registered in the property registries between January and March was 7,965, which is 1.3% more than the previous quarter and 3.3% less than in the same quarter of 2021. Mortgage foreclosures of habitual residence already add seven quarters to the rise.

The main objective of this statistic is to offer quarterly the number of mortgage foreclosure certifications initiated and registered in the Property Registries during the reference quarter. The INE reminds that not all foreclosures end with the release (eviction) of their owners.

In the first quarter, 7,965 foreclosures were initiated, 3.3% less than in the same period of 2021 but 1.3% more than in the last quarter of 2021. Of these, 7,622 affected urban properties (which includes homes ) and 343 to rustic properties.

Foreclosures on urban properties fell 3.4% year-on-year in the first quarter, but were up 2.3% from the previous quarter. Within urban estates, 5,212 foreclosures corresponded to homes, 0.9% more than in the first quarter of 2021 and 2.1% more than the previous quarter.

Of these, 4,105 were foreclosures on the homes of individuals, 1.4% more than in the previous quarter and 5.4% more than in the first quarter of 2021.

And within the homes of natural persons, 3,320 executions were carried out on habitual residences of natural persons and 785 on homes that are not the habitual residence of the owners. The former rose 3.4% year-on-year and 2.8% quarterly, while the latter increased 14.9% compared to the first quarter of 2021, but fell 4% compared to the previous quarter.

For their part, foreclosures on homes of legal entities totaled 1,107 between January and March, 4.7% more than in the previous quarter and 12.8% below the figure for the same period in 2021, reports Europa Press .

Home foreclosures accounted for 65.4% of all foreclosures in the first quarter of this year. 41.7% of all foreclosures affected habitual residences of individuals, 13.9% corresponded to homes of legal persons and 9.9% to other homes of individuals.

For its part, foreclosures of other urban properties (premises, garages, offices, storage rooms, warehouses, buildings intended for housing, other buildings and urban developments) represented 27.2% of the total.

16.6% of foreclosures on homes in the first quarter were on new homes and 83.4% on used ones. The number of foreclosures on new homes increased by 57.4% in the annual rate and 54.5% in the quarter-on-quarter rate, while that of used ones fell by 5.8% compared to the same quarter of 2021 (-4.4 % quarterly).

17% of foreclosures initiated on homes in the first quarter correspond to mortgages constituted in 2007; 13.9% to mortgages constituted in 2006 and 10% to mortgages from 2005. The 2005-2008 period concentrates 49.9% of foreclosures initiated between January and March.

By autonomous communities, as is usual in housing statistics, Andalusia also led executions in the first quarter, with a total of 1,461, followed by Catalonia (995) and Comunitat Valenciana (898). Where there was least was in La Rioja (26), Navarra (31) and Cantabria (33).

Out of the total number of properties, Andalusia also led the number of foreclosures, with 1,943, followed by Catalonia (1,680) and Comunitat Valenciana (1,452). For their part, La Rioja (33), Navarra (54) and Cantabria (56) recorded the lowest number.