REO

1 of 2

abbreviation

real estate owned

… 0.59 percent of homes with a mortgage in Cleveland were in REO (real estate owned) status, meaning after they were not sold at auction, they were returned to possession of the lender.

—Cleveland (Tennessee) Daily Banner

REO

2 of 2

noun

ˌär-ˌē-ˈō 

variants or REO property

plural REOs or REO properties

: a property owned by a lender (such as a bank) typically after the property owner defaults on the loan and the property fails to sell during a foreclosure auction

… REO properties are marketed by the bank that acquired the property through foreclosure. An offer to purchase such property need be accepted only by the bank that owns the property …

—Scott Potter

Any type of property can be an REO property. Property types range from vacant lots to residential to commercial.

—Ronald Field

Some agents who specialize in REOs said about half the buyers now scouring the market for deals on bank-owned properties are people who want to live in the homes, while the other half are seeking investment property to rent out.

—Sue McAllister

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1981, in the meaning defined above