In Spain, homes go, but debts remain
By Suzanne Daley | New York Times | Updated: 2010-11-21 09:04
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An estimated 1.4 million Spaniards may face foreclosure; many, like Manolo Marban, owe tens of thousands of dollars to banks. Lourdes Segade for The New York Times |
MADRID - The real estate and banking excesses in Spain were a lot like those in the United States. Construction boomed, prices rose at an astonishing pace and banks gave out loans just as fast. But those days are over. Spain now has the highest unemployment rate in the euro zone -20 percent -and real estate prices are dropping. For many Spaniards, no longer able to pay their mortgages, the fine print in the deals they agreed to years ago is catching up with them.
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