Arizona Company Adds Short Sale Dept. to Combat Foreclosures

""Integra Group Real Estate"":http://integratucson.com/ introduced a short sale department to its services to address the high foreclosure rates in Arizona.

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“The short sale department enables homeowners to sell the property with the appropriate valuation in the shortest time and avoid the ramifications of having a foreclosure on their credit history,” said Eric Lichtenheld, president of Integra Group.

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The housing market crash caused more than half of Arizona homeowners to have negative equity, and Pima County has an 11.9 percent vacancy rate compared to the normal 1 and 2 percent rate, according to a release from Integra.

“Due to the extreme number of foreclosures, the current vacant housing stock will accommodate 10 years of population growth in the area,” said Lichtenheld. “With the launch of our short sale department, we are dedicated to providing homeowners selling alternatives, decreasing the number of foreclosed homes, and helping stabilize the neighborhoods in southern Arizona by maintaining asset values.”

According to a January 2012 report from ""ForeclosureRadar"":http://www.foreclosureradar.com/arizona-foreclosures, the number of homes that received a notice of default to begin the foreclosure process decreased by 6.3 percent compared to the previous month in December and also decreased by 48 percent compared to a year ago.

Through bilingual support, Integra also services Hispanic homeowners who were impacted 2.3 times more by subprime loans than non-Hispanics. Intregra is a brokerage firm specializing in the marketing and sale of REO, HUD and distressed properties in southern Arizona.