I guess we all know the answer to that one by now:  Nothing!  There's nothing "short" about a short sale--ask me, as a person of diminutive height, I can tell you that short sales are nothing about shortness!  So, where from did this term derive, anyway?

Well, put simply, the real estate market is just like any other market--and selling short is market terminology.  When you sell a stock short, you are actually purchasing under the assumption that the future price of the stock will fall.  When you sell a property short, you are asking to purchase a property which has an existing lien currently worth more than the property in the current market.

A recent question on Trulia asked:

I am in the latter stages of a short sale. The listing has been as a 'active contingent short sale'. One day last week it disappeared from the website. The next day it was back on the web site, this time it was listed as 'pending'. What is the difference, why was it changed My agent tells me the listing agent told her the contract is on the supervisors desk at the bank with everything they need. That we just have to wait. It has been 3 1/2 months since we signed the contract. Also, this was listed as a "bank approved" short sale. If this is the case why the long wait. I know the story of short sales, this is our second attempt. The first time we heard something by now. Help!

The answer?  Read it here