Short sale什么意思

"Short sale" is a term used in the stock market and in real estate. In both contexts, it refers to a transaction where an asset is sold for an amount that is less than the seller's acquisition cost.

In the stock market, a short sale is a trading strategy where an investor borrows a stock and sells it on the market, hoping to buy it back later at a lower price to return it to the lender and pocket the difference. This strategy is used when the investor believes the stock's price will decline.

In real estate, a short sale occurs when a homeowner sells their property for less than the balance of their mortgage. The lender agrees to accept the proceeds from the sale as full satisfaction of the debt, typically because the property's value has decreased, and the homeowner cannot afford to continue making payments.

In both cases, the term "short sale" reflects the fact that the seller is receiving less than the full value of the asset, creating a situation where the seller is effectively in a "short" position, having sold something they did not fully own.