Central Florida Market Data - February 2012

Statistics provided by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association for last month are showing that the decline in foreclosures from the last several months has greatly contributed to a 17.83% drop in Orlando's overall sales for January, but there were increases in the number of short sales and normal sales.

The fact that foreclosures declined and short sales increased is a good sign; it tells us that homeowners are becoming more educated on the truth about why a short sale is the smartest decision they can make right now.

Short sales increased by 23.69% this past month, and that is a great sign for many reasons:

• It means the banks are getting wise.  They now realize that approving short sales benefit them, their investors, and the economy as a whole.
• It means homeowners are treating this as a business decision, educating themselves on the facts, and moving forward with smart choices.
• It means that our housing marketing will recover a tad more quickly.  The more short sales, the better - the sooner we can get rid of all the foreclosure inventory on the market, the better.
• It means there are tons more homeowners that are in a better financial position now, because they are out from under their mortgage.

It would seem, for now at least, that 2012 is going to be a great year for shedding your mortgage debt via short sale!