The Year of the Orlando Short Sale

      Will 2012 be the Year of the Orlando Short Sale?  Since mid-2006, residential values in Florida have declined by 51 percent. Hundreds of thousands of properties have been, or are, in foreclosure and huge numbers of homes have been repossessed. Check out these numbers for the state of Florida.

• 150,000 residential properties in Florida have been repossessed, and are now REO’s.
• 371,000 foreclosure cases are open in courts today.
• 530,000 residential mortgage loans are at least 90 days past due and in default.
• 265,000 homeowners have not made a mortgage payment in more than two years.
• 1 million residences are in some form "distressed," whether in foreclosure, owned by banks or in default.
• 46 percent of mortgages are "under water" … in other words, the debt exceeds the current market value of the residential property.

     Add this number  809,… this is the average number of days to process a foreclosure in Florida — It’s easy to understand why Orlando short sales have become so popular with both lenders and sellers, because are the best option for both parties and they create positive movements in the total market.
Will 2012 be the Year of the Orlando Short Sale? I think so, I also think that 2013 might be an even stronger Year of the Short Sale because of the volume of pending foreclosures.

     There was a group of 150 people — analysts, lawyers, bankers, real estate agents and developers — who attended the forum that more lenders are warming to short sales. They all agreed that distressed homeowners  are overcoming their psychological hurdles and coming to terms with the financial implications of an Orlando short sale.

     Although, the impacts of Orlando foreclosures and short sales and the fear of more to come are still a threat and prevent value appreciation from returning to its traditional levels in single digits. There are many positive signs of growth in the market.