21 Percent of Maryland Home Sales Are ‘Short Sales’

By Whitney Teal

With all signs pointing to a recovering real estate market in the Washington, DC suburbs, short sales were still incredibly popular in Maryland this year, according to a report from real estate research firm RealtyTrac, the Washington Business Journal reported.

In Elkridge there were 63 homes in some stage of foreclosure in June 2013, according to RealtyTrac. That's about 0.1 percent of the homes in Elkridge. That rate is 14 percent lower than in May, but still 1,100 higher than in June 2012

Throughout Maryland, about one-fifth (21 percent) of homes sales were short sales, according to a June report. A short sale is a foreclosure alternative where the seller makes no profit because the home sells for less than the amount owed, according to AOL Real Estate.

In 2010, Elkridge had about 6,066 hosusing units, according to the census. Homes in foreclosure in Elkridge sell, on average, sell for about six percent less than the median sale price. 

Only Nevada (30 percent) and Florida (29 percent) had a higher percentage of short sales, the newspaper reported.

Read the Washington Business Journal for more on the report.