(Real Estate) A short sale in real estate is pretty simple by definition. A short sale is an opportunity for a financially distressed homeowner who has encountered a hardship. Usually for them a short sale is the only option so they don’t go into foreclosure. In a short sale, the overwhelmed homeowner sells his real estate for less than the value of his loan. In other words, the sale of the house falls short of what the owner still owes on his mortgage. Hence the name short sale. After negotiations with the bank, the lender then accepts the short sale as payment in full. (“or paid as agreed”) for the real estate loan. The difference between the accepted short sale price amount and the loan balance is called a deficiency in real estate.