More Banks Consider Short Sales

After about a year of dealing slowly and reluctantly with short sale offers, many banks are reconsidering, looking for solutions that will allow them to recoup debt in foreclosure situations.

Observers say that if the trend continues, it will reduce or eliminate the need for taxpayer bailouts.

The National Short Sale Center, which helps short buyers negotiate with banks, says three-quarters of its short offers are approved now, up from maybe half six months ago.

"Before, people on the phone at banks didn't even have the authority to negotiate. Now they're calling us with numbers," says Pam B. Canada of nonprofit NeighborWorks in Sacramento, Calif.

To be sure, many agents and counselors think banks still have their heads in the sand. "They're out to get the last dime, even when people don't have a dime," says real estate practitioner Heidi Mueller in San Francisco as she heads to an auction sale on the courthouse steps.