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Frankfurt / Ratingen (dpa) - The number of foreclosures in Germany has also fallen during the corona pandemic.

According to research by the specialist publisher Argetra, proceedings were opened last year for 14,853 properties with market values ​​of a good 3.1 billion euros.

In the same period last year, 2019, there were 17,600 houses, apartments or land with a market value of more than 3.4 billion euros.

The persistently low interest rates, many deferred loans from banks and the short-time work allowance would have prevented numerous foreclosures in the pandemic, the Argetra experts write in the report that is available to the German press agency.

In 2020, an average of 36 out of 100,000 households were affected by foreclosures (previous year: 42).

With the expiry of state aid, more unemployment and bankruptcies, the numbers could rise, so Argetra.

For the evaluation, the specialist publisher has evaluated the dates for foreclosures at all of almost 500 local courts.

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According to the information, mainly residential properties (66 percent) with the lion's share of single and two-family houses, followed by condominiums.

The remainder (34 percent) is accounted for by commercial properties, commercial buildings, land and other real estate, among other things.

However, only about half of the foreclosure auction proceedings that have been opened end in court.

The rest of the affected houses, apartments or land will be sold beforehand - there are enough buyers in the real estate boom.

The number of foreclosures in Germany has been falling for years.

The reasons are the long-term good economic situation and the low interest rates, which keep the interest burden on loans for debtors low and drive demand for real estate.

"In the past ten years the economy has grown steadily, the number of employees with social security has kept reaching new records and real wages have risen just as steadily in the process," said Kai Warnecke, President of the House and Land owners' association.

Therefore, fewer foreclosures are no surprise.

"The positive economic development came to an abrupt end due to the corona pandemic."

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In the crisis, banks offered borrowers to defer payments instead of canceling loans and initiating foreclosures, said Argetra managing director Walter Ruesch.

Many appointments for foreclosures have also been canceled due to the ban on gatherings in the pandemic.

Because of the economic downturn and the increased unemployment, especially in the auto industry, significantly more foreclosures can be expected again with a time lag.

"We do not expect the corona-related terminations of loans until the second half of 2021 and especially 2022, as the processing times at banks and courts are very long."

Last year, according to Argetra, properties with a market value of a good 212,000 euros were auctioned, after an average of 195,000 euros in the previous year.

The values ​​were highest in Hamburg and Berlin, and lowest in Saxony-Anhalt.

The market value of real estate often deviates from the current market value, since one to two years often pass by the date of the foreclosure auction and prices rise or fall in the meantime.

A particularly large number of properties would be auctioned in central Germany from North Rhine-Westphalia to Eastern Germany.

The number of scheduled foreclosures per 100,000 households in Saxony-Anhalt (73) is still three times as high as in Bavaria (22) despite a decline.

Chemnitz is ahead of the 40 cities with the most appointments, followed by Leipzig, Zwickau and Berlin.

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Ruesch contradicted the impression that buyers can get cheap apartments or houses in foreclosures.

"Nothing is cheap on the real estate market at the moment."

In the case of foreclosures, it is much more a question of debtors getting off their financial situation, often after unemployment.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210219-99-504582 / 2

Argetra

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