I went to a conference in Spain in 2008. As the train rode across the countryside, I noticed that there were a large number of construction projects that just seemed to be abandoned and rotting. I had the feeling then that things were gonna get bad.
Some reports say that there are 3 million empty homes in Spain (I think the amount is 6 million, but half of them are probably out of the market). It is estimated that the home surplus would last until 2020, and the land surface already in the hands of the banks with permits to build new ones, until 2030.
The total debt linked to the home bubble is €400 billion. It has been needed five years to cover €110 billion of them.