At least 95 families were evicted every day in Spain in 2014, fresh statistics say as Spaniards struggle to meet mortgage payments. Home foreclosures have become a stark symbol of the 7-year economic crisis, with 2014 seeing a further rise in numbers.
The number of foreclosures on all types of residences, including holiday homes, offices and farms, reached 119,442 last year, almost 10 percent higher than in 2013, according to data from the National Statistics Institute.
Foreclosure procedures on main residences rose to 34,680 families in 2014, an increase of 7.4 percent over the previous year.
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Andalusia, Catalonia and Valencia were the worst-affected regions.
Evictions have become a symbol of the economic crisis Spain has been struggling with since 2008. Most of them were connected to mortgages taken out during property booms in 2006 and 2007.
The situation has provoked nationwide protest. Campaigners often rally outside homes in an attempt to prevent residents from having to spend the night in the street. They are calling on the country’s authorities to make more housing available, or allow vacant housing following developers’ bankruptcies to be used.
Read More: Almost 100 families evicted daily in Spain
