Quarterly foreclosures on primary residences show the first decline after a stretch of growth
Foreclosure activity in standard primary residences reached 3,165 cases in the second quarter, marking the lowest level and a representative snapshot since late 2020. The year over year decline stood at 4.1 percent compared with the same period in 2021, and the quarter over quarter change showed a 4.7 percent decrease.
The data indicate the first fall in mortgage foreclosures on primary homes after seven consecutive quarters of increases, according to statistics released this week by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The main goal of this quarterly statistic is to present the number of lien certificates initiated and registered in the Property Registers during the reference quarter. It is important to note that not every lien leads to eviction, as many cases are resolved in other ways or do not culminate in a formal eviction process.
In the second quarter a total of 7,115 foreclosures were initiated, which is 27.4 percent below the level in the same period of 2021 and 10.7 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2022. Of these, 6,719 affected urban properties, including houses, while 396 involved rural properties.
Foreclosures on urban properties fell year over year by 27.7 percent in the second quarter and declined by 11.8 percent from the prior quarter. Within urban estates, foreclosures amounted to 4,596 residential properties, a 23.6 percent drop compared with the second quarter of 2021 and an 11.8 percent drop from the previous quarter.