When I was doing loss mit work, I explained it this way. The bank can lose a little money by agreeing to a short sale, or a modified loan agreement, or they can lose a LOT of money if the house goes to foreclosure.
There are benefits to the homeowner as well. Sure they don't get to walk away with money in their pocket...but sometimes even just being able to walk away with a burden lifted from them is a major relief to them.
Agreed, but I am talking about making money from them. The homeowner doesn't make any money, the bank doesn't make any money. The Realtor, the attorneys, the title company, the appraiser and possibly the inspector - they all make money from a successful short sale transaction. So my point originally was simply that the only person that makes any money from a short sale transaction is the Realtor, etc. etc. etc. yada yada yada.