Nomisma: two million families at risk of insolvency. Anyone who loses their house at auction still remains super-indebted

ROME – There are two million families who risk losing their homes because they can no longer meet their mortgage or loan repayments. And that, even when they have to sell their property at judicial auction, they still remain up to their necks in debt, with a residual of 57%: the fault lies in the fact that the enforcement procedures devalue up to 63% of the value of the properties, leaving even the creditors, who recover only half of what they owe. It’s the cry of alarm of Nomismawho today in the Chamber presented theSalvaLaTuaCasa Observatory, elaborate by Luca Dondi and Roberta Gabrielli.

The installments that put you in difficulty

16% of families who have taken out mortgages or loans (about half of the 25.7 million Italian families) are already insolvent (4%) or in the balance, in the sense that they are still able to repay the installments, but not regularly, and with the risk of not making it any time soon. The difficulties are to blame mainly to inflationwhich in the last two years caused mortgage payments to rise and variable loans ranging from 35 to 119%. Families with an installment exceeding 700 euros went from 27% at the beginning of 2023 to 40% at the end of 2023.

Tighten the strap

Crushed by debt, families are forced to reduce expenses, and not just necessary ones. Those 16% at risk have already cut their spending on leisure by 43%, but also their spending on healthcare by 16%. Also because inflation forced them to spend 21% more on food and 49% more on household utilities.

A situation that can only get worse, because it is true that inflation has slowed down, but prices are certainly not falling: in the coming months, Nomisma predicts a deterioration in credit quality and an increase in insolvencies, which will probably also be reflected in the auction market. According to forecasts, auctions in 2024 will be between 160 thousand and 180 thousand, an increase of 12% compared to 2023.

Those who don’t know how to get out of it turn to friends and relatives, or to loan sharks: to report it Carlo De Masi, president of Adiconsum. «We have an observatory and an anti-usury fund. – He explains – Those who come to us usually can’t make it anymore because they combine economic difficulties with serious illnesses or the loss of a job».

One solution, which emerged from the round table, could be “social securitization”: «By making use of funds made available by ESG investors – he explains Gianfranco Dote, CEO of Syho – Save Your Home B – we offer insolvent families, who are already on the verge of having their house put up for auction, the possibility of accessing a program that allows them to pay a low rent for three years, lower than the mortgage payment, in advance of the repurchase. If the economic situation improves in three years, they can recover the house and get back on their feet. We are trying to push the banks to favor this solution, rather than the judicial auction.”