Spanish Evictions Reach Record Numbers

 

With almost 5 Million people now unemployed in Spain, some 21% of the population, it is understandable that the number of mortgages falling into arrears is reaching record numbers.

According to figures released last week by Spain's General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the number of cases filed for evictions in the second quarter of 2011 hit 16,464 - an increase of 21.2% over the same period for 2010. The previous record was in the first quarter of this year at 15,546, an increase of 36.8%.

The number of evictions due to non-payment of the mortgage in the first 6 months of this year is almost the same for the whole of 2009, which totalled 33,918. The record annual increase was last year, when 47,809 eviction proceedings were carried out.

The biggest increase in evictions in the second quarter of 2011 took place Murcia, where they rose by over seven-fold, followed by Extremadura. The biggest number of evictions was in the region of Valencia at 3,297.