More mortgage servicers bypass foreclosure delays with short sales

Mortgage servicers contending with attorney general investigations and extended foreclosure delays turned more to short sales in the past year.

In August 2009, short sales accounted for 8% of all liquidations of distressed properties. That number grew to 25% by the middle of 2011, according to research from Moody's Investors Service.

Meanwhile, the time it took from a borrower default to eventual REO liquidation grew from an average 14 months in early 2009 to 24 months by the summer of 2011.

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