The value of debt recovery this year has reached new highs and for the first time hit the one billion euro mark. Most of the bad debt has been taken on as consumer credit.

Around 1,300 house, flats and other properties, such as holiday home, were forced into sale last year. This year's figure is expected to be slightly higher.

According to the director of Sampo Bank in Oulu, Kari Salmela, the depression of the 1990s taught that forcing the sale of homes to recover debts should be a final resort.

"A forced auction is the absolutely last thing to do. All this year, we've only had a few dozen."

Unemployment, illness, divorce

Current law makes provisions for guaranteeing the interests of all parties involved, with debt restructuring and voluntary liquidation of assets favoured over auctions. Although the law is aimed at ensuring that auction prices are not significantly lower that real market value, Kari Salmela points out that the faster a property is sold, the better.

When homes do end up on the auction block, the reason is most often long-term unemployment, illness or divorce. Sometimes the slippery slope starts with consumers getting in over their heads, or simply overestimating their capacity to pay off their debts. Most households are also poorly prepared for a sudden change in fortunes. According to Statistics Finland, the average savings that can be used as a buffer is less than 2000 euros.