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There is another factor for lenders to consider when approving a short sale at the highest end of the market. In at least some cases, the homeowners might have considerable assets in addition to the house that the lender could potentially go after.

When a lender forecloses on a home, it generally retains the right to seek a deficiency judgement, a lawsuit to collect the remaining amount of the mortgage after the home is resold. Lenders give up that right in a short sale. In practice, though, lenders have rarely sought deficiency judgements since foreclosed homeowners generally don’t have much money.

“Everything is a case-by-case basis,” said Sapourn of lenders’ decisions about short sales.

For the owners of high-end homes who can’t make their mortgage payments, though, the decision is a simple one, Sapourn said. “More and more people are realizing, ‘I can be foreclosed on . . . or I can go to the bank and try to get a short sale.’ “

And despite the economic downturn, there are still people who can afford such homes. Realtors say that most of the buyers of homes of $1 million or more have avoided mortgages and paid cash.

Kaiser said she is confident that the home she has listed will sell at something close to list price. The reason, she said, is the same reason that made it worth $3 million at one point: Location.

“There is only so much waterfront property,” she said, citing an old real estate truism. “God isn’t making anymore.”

Contact McCarthy at 321-752-5018 or jmccarthy@floridatoday.com.