A more thorough explanation:

A short sale is a type of real estate sale where the homeowner sells their house for less than what they owe on their mortgage. This usually happens when the homeowner is in financial trouble and needs to sell their house quickly. The lender must agree to the short sale for it to happen. Sometimes, the lender will forgive the remaining balance on the mortgage. For example, if someone sells their house for $150,000 but still owes $200,000 on their mortgage, the lender might forgive the remaining $50,000.

Short sale can also refer to a type of stock investment. In this case, an investor borrows stocks from a broker, sells them to another investor, and hopes to buy them back later for a lower price. The investor must return the same amount of stocks to the broker at a specific time and for a fee. For example, if an investor borrows 100 stocks of ABC Co. from a broker and sells them for $50 each, they hope to buy them back later for a lower price. If they buy them back for $40 each, they make a profit of $1000 (minus any fees charged by the broker). However, short sales are risky because the price of the stocks could go up instead of down, and the investor would lose money. For example, if the investor had to return the stocks when the price was $100, they would lose $5000 (plus broker fees).

Both examples illustrate the concept of short sale, which is selling something for less than what is owed or what it is worth. In real estate, the homeowner sells their house for less than what they owe on their mortgage. In stock investment, the investor sells stocks for more than what they buy them back for later.