The total number of foreclosure certificate registrations and the count of primary residences declined by 16% from April through June, a drop that marks the lowest level since 2020, at 2,697 cases.
Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) show that the quarterly tally of foreclosures initiated in property records during the second quarter of 2023 reached 5,386. This represented a 4.2% rise from the prior quarter but remained 26% below the level recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
The annual rate of foreclosures for properties owned by individuals fell 16.7%. Of these foreclosures, 2,697 involved habitual residences, down 16.0% from the second quarter of 2022, while 563 concerned residences not habitually owned by the primary owners, a decrease of 19.8%. Foreclosures on primary residences accounted for 68.3% of total foreclosures in the quarter, with 50.1% specifically tied to homes that serve as the owners’ primary dwelling.
Foreclosures linked to housing owned by legal entities represented 7.7% of the total (417 cases, down 46.3% year over year) and foreclosures on other homes owned by individuals comprised 10.5% (563 cases, down 19.8%). Foreclosures on other urban properties, including commercial premises, garages, offices, warehouses, and various urban structures, accounted for 24.1% of the total.
Analyzing by the year in which the mortgage was registered shows that 15.1% of the foreclosures initiated in the second quarter involved loans originated before 2007. New loans created in 2007 accounted for 14.6%, while those signed in 2005 represented 10.0%. Taken together, foreclosures started in the second quarter stemming from the 2004-2008 period totaled 55.9%.
Autonomous communities
When data are broken down by autonomous communities, the largest shares of foreclosure certificates within total property foreclosures during the second quarter were observed in Andalusia with 1,509 registrations, the Valencian Community with 1,019, and Catalonia with 995. Navarra Foral Society reported 22 foreclosures, Cantabria had 29, and La Rioja recorded 38, the lowest figures among the regions.
Looking at houses specifically, Andalusia led with 1,004 foreclosures, followed by Catalonia with 757 and the Community of Valencia with 693. The fewest foreclosures on houses occurred in Navarra with 15, Cantabria with 23, and La Rioja with 29.