Short Sale homes stigmatized

Short sales once viewed by home buyers as attractive have now lost their appeal in many areas and in some cases are avoided like the plague.  This can be noted by the many "normal" sales now advertised as "NOT A SHORT SALE" to attract potential buyers who no longer are interested in waiting months and months to close a transaction. 

In the Daily Real Estate news yesterday, the National Association of Realtors quotes Summer Greene, regional manager of Better Homes and Gardens, First in Real Estate in Fort Lauderdale, FL:

"Short sale does have a stigma now."  Greene says getting bank approval for a short sale can be difficult, and the process of buying a short sale can take four to six months in her area. (It can take much longer than that in our area!)   Moneywatch further quotes Greene as saying:   "I can't think of any buyer that a short sale is good for and it's poison for a first-time home buyer."

The loss of short sale "appeal" is nothing new in our area.  I blogged about it back in 2011:  Homebuyers giving the boot to short sales!  and in 2008 when I blogged about Tampa agents including the words:  "Not a short sale" in realtor remarks in MLS.

Currently there are only 25 "short sale", single family home MLS listings of over 220 total listed for sale in MLS in Wesley Chapel and 23 active "short sale" listings in New Tampa of the 235 total homes for sale.

Just remember, the only thing "short" about a short sale will likely be your temper!