Short Sale: Helping Stabilize the Housing Market

When you hear about a short sale, what usually come into mind are distressed homeowners looking for a way out of their mortgage problems. But these days, short sales have fast become the solution to the enduring crisis in the housing industry.

News reports involving foreclosure statistics are showing an increasing number of short sale transactions. Most markets hit hard by the mortgage mess are actually enjoying an improved home sales activity with short sale homes accounting for almost half the total sales.

Such data only goes to show two things — investors and home buyers are taking full advantage of the benefits of buying short sale homes while lenders are finally waking up to the reality that a short sale might just be the answer to their problem with ballooning inventory. As long as there are distressed owners and buyers interested in saving money and at the same time earning considerable return on their investment, lenders will be able to keep their foreclosure numbers at bay.

Even federal regulators have started to realize the benefits of encouraging short sale transactions on the national housing market. In fact, they are even offering incentives to both lenders and borrowers who will choose the short sale route over foreclosure.

Of course, at the end of the day, a short sale allows a homeowner leave their home with their credit score relatively unblemished. It also allows them to avoid having to suffer through the embarrassment of a foreclosure.

Short sale buyers as well as foreclosure investors do not know it yet but they are actually the ones who are helping the housing market get back on its feet again. It would certainly seem that choosing to buy a distressed property will not only give you rewards in the form of profit and savings but you also get to feel good about how you have helped neighborhoods reduce the negative impact abandoned properties have on home market values.

Hopefully, more buyers realize the wisdom of buying short sale homes and not focus on the fact that such transactions can still be lengthy.