Central Florida’s housing market – including the Orlando property scene – is picking up again, professionals involved in the sector have stated.

Investors and first-time buyers are said to be coming back in large numbers to pick up bargains due to lower prices, with half of these being repossessed properties or those short sold, in which a bank will accept a price worth less than the full mortgage, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Commenting on the increasing willingness of banks to short sell, Orlando area realtor Patrick Higgins told the news provider: "Lenders are becoming more responsive."

Those keen on buying Orlando property may find this is a less expensive way of doing so, although Mr Higgins noted that the process can be slower than the standard procedure in a normal transaction.

Evidence of higher sales emerged at the end of March, when the Orlando Regional Realtor Association revealed that property transactions in February this year were 28.1 per cent up on the number seen in the same month in 2008.

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