There were 93,622 home repossession processes started last year, according to figures from Spain’s official judicial body (Consejo General del Poder Judicial).

That represents an all-time high, slightly above the previous record high in 2009, and 4 times higher than at the start of the crisis.

The body also warned that the figures might understate the true number of foreclosures thanks to the way the data is gathered.

There have been a total of 271,570 repossessions since the start of the crisis in 2007, when there were just 25,943 foreclosures, rising to 58,686 in 2008, 93,319 in 2009, and 93,622 last year.

Last year repossessions rose the most in Extremadura (+32pc), followed by Valencia (+11pc) and Murcia (+8pc). Repossessions fell by 14pc in The Balearics.