Collaboration to assist homeowners

The National Association of Realtors recently announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help Realtors better assist homeowners who are finding it difficult to sell their homes in short sales.

Homeowners who are in hopes of packing up and moving after selling their homes will now be assisted by Realtors who attend the upcoming Making Home Affordable "Help for Homeowners" outreach events.

The events will aim to provide insight to help Realtors better understand the process of short sales and give an opportunity for them to meet directly with loan servicers on behalf of their numerous clients.

"As the nation's leading advocate for homeownership and housing issues, Realtors are working hard to keep more people in their homes, and when a family is absolutely unable keep their home, Realtors are there to help homeowners by facilitating a loan modification or short sale," said Moe Veissi, NAR president. "I encourage our Realtor members to participate in these new events so that they have the tools and information to help distressed homeowners achieve the best possible outcome."

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, home prices decreased by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, which might encourage people to look for new homes.