The Thing

Each morning, I catch myself doomscrolling. Wandering aimlessly on Facebook. Sometimes ads come up and I have no idea why I’m looking at them. We once bought some kind of super charger in a hot lime green color for the I-phone. The hot lime green and sleek design signifies that it will charge fast. I wished it was a dull burgundy hue (as I wouldn’t have been tempted to buy) as can attest it doesn’t charge any faster no matter the color of the charger. Another product that pops up is neck massagers. I’ve been visiting my chiropractor, Dr. Carlstrom, at Spine Design in Jupiter for some neck pain. Since I googled him for his addresses, FB thinks I’m interested in giant recliner massages and neck contraptions. But one caught my attention. It’s a 5-finger hand massage. The SiaaSoo. Kinda creepy but you have to wonder if it works. Have you seen this thing too? It looks a bit like the “Thing” hand from Addams Family. I’m afraid if I ordered it, it would strangle me or run away and hide under the couch. Most likely, it’s a nice stocking stuffer that will sit in the garage or crawl away on its own. If anyone ordered this and it does work, tell me and maybe I’ll get it.

This time of year is the period for all sorts of junky products. FB also showed me a 3D augmented reality Horse Bracelet. If you don’t like that for your loved ones you could get the Octopus Pendant Oxidized by Larimar. It wraps around your neck for only $335. 8 fingers to strangle you instead of the 5-finger neck massage. Scroll enough on social media and all these product ads selling in Psychobabble do work on you eventually. Real estate also has some questionable products that lots of Buyers are interested in. Foreclosures are one of them. And if you wish to shop them go here and click on Foreclosures and its homely cousin, the short sale, under Filter.

This week I was interviewed by Scripps regarding foreclosures as nationwide foreclosures were up 8 straight months and Florida led the way along with Texas. You can watch me coast-to-coast here. The same day one of our agents said to me he had a call from a client who only wanted to buy a foreclosure. Oh boy, here we go! So, you must be asking, is this a sign of things to come? Well, its kind of like that “Hand Thing” massager. It might seem like a good idea when you buy it but is it really?1? That is why I’m here to break it all down for you…..

Nationwide, one in every 3,992 housing units had a foreclosure filing in November 2025. “November marks the ninth straight month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity, underscoring a trend that has steadily taken shape throughout 2025,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “Foreclosure starts were up 17 percent from last year and completed foreclosures rose 26 percent. Lenders started the foreclosure process on 23,720 U.S. properties in November 2025, down 6 percent from last month but up 17 percent from a year ago. Florida had the most foreclosure starts according to ATTOM at 2,819.

But here’s the rub….1 penny + another penny is 2 pennies. Its value is two cents, and they won’t even make them anymore. Point is that the base line for foreclosures was so low 9 months ago that a 17% jump is not much at all.

Foreclosures virtually stopped during the pandemic. That created more of a backlog, and we are seeing some catchup of that now. There is also present day a buildup of 6-7-8% mortgage rates over the past 3.5 years so that has played a part. The tariffs which have caused a spike in inflation began 8 months ago, exactly when we started to see an increase so that may play a part.

There are not a lot of reasons to be concerned though. Here are 6 reasons why…

1. The Precious
3-4% mortgage holders. Banks would kill for people to pay those off immediately. They are valuable assets.
2. Low unemployment
Unemployment is ticking up and the job market isn’t great but relatively speaking, it’s stable.
3. Equity
Lots of appreciation in homes have taken place and the vast majority have equity in their homes.
4. Bank Attitude
Back in 2012, the bank just foreclosed on you. Today, it’s “how can we help?”
5. 4 million home shortage
The supply shortage of homes is not getting fixed anytime soon. Many homes were bought by investors in the Big Short era and are now lived in by renters. Furthermore, some construction that is occurring are build to rent communities. Builders, because of inflation and rates, are not going to overbuild.
6. Dodd Frank Act of 2010
There has not been risky behavior of no verification loans, shady adjustable-rate mortgages, and bad appraisals going on for 15 years now. People who own on average are in good shape.

However, there are some warning signs. Affordability is the biggest one. The old 28%-36% rule. (28% of gross income should be the maximum cash outflow of housing costs) (36% of your PITI housing payment and other debts shouldn’t go past 36% percent of income). Inflation hits the poor immediately because every dollar taken in is spent. Most poor people are in rentals though. The middle class and upper middle class have inflation hit slower. It might not be the biggest difference in month 1-2-3. But by month 4-5 or 6-7, it starts to have an effect. We spent $122 before tip for four omelets and 2 coffees at a diner the other day. You read that right. If you are spending more on food, clothing, health care, auto repair, and other incidentals, it starts to eat away at what you can afford for a home or paying off your loan.

Furthermore, equity is being lost because home values are not going up with the rate of inflation, meaning on average we have all taken a paper loss. On the other hand, housing has taken its hit and is becoming more affordable. Everything is going up except the price of housing and gasoline. If you are purchasing, realize that there will have to be a bump in prices in early 2026 coming just to stay even with inflation. It’s why I reason homes might be undervalued now.

Generally, I’m not too concerned about foreclosures. As far as buying one, they typically are not great buys. First, there isn’t much of a choice. Second, foreclosures tend to be the dregs. If you remember my article, The Siphon from a few weeks back, homes that don’t turn have a low siphon opening. If a home has a great view, good floorplan, and is remodeled – than it tends to sell. If a home in 2026 is going all the way to foreclosure you can bet that the majority are backing up to a road, in rough shape, poor floorplans, primary bedrooms upstairs and not in your favorite neighborhood. Florida foreclosure startups are probably higher because we had more purchasing at the tip top of the pandemic market in 2021-2022 and other states laws like in New York or New Jersey take more days to foreclose.

One without experience has to be careful of buying foreclosures. You still need to have cash at hand and must do your research with a real estate attorney on clear title which is chancy. I’d take my chances with the 5-Finger Hand Thing Massage over a foreclosure. For $31 it’s a much cheaper mistake!