Housing is expensive; that's the theme of this week's report which features two trends related to that topic: the median home price and foreclosure rates.

• Median home price: Buying a home has become increasingly difficult this year. The median home price throughout the past 12 months has increased 12% across the nation and over 20% in certain regions of the country. You can blame this trend on the FED for the 0% interest rates that have been maintained throughout 2020 or you can blame the market for having 19.2% less for-sale inventory than it did around this time in 2019. Regardless, $313,500 is the median price for a home in America. So bunker down and pray for a future decrease in home prices or bring out the check book and be prepared to pay up.
• Foreclosure rates:  Down 79% and up 21%. What exactly does that mean? The foreclosure bubble is about to pop. At least that is what we are speculating here at Joist. Foreclosures from 2019-2020 are down 79% which is astonishing until you realize that the government placed restrictions on lenders that prevented homeowners from falling into foreclosure throughout the pandemic. And those restrictions have been extended until the December 31, 2020, so the true impact of the pandemic on foreclosures won't be understood until early 2021. But, in the month of October 2020, foreclosures were up 21% from the month before. This double-digit spike hints at an approaching downturn for the residential real estate market; one that will likely form a tidal wave of homelessness and renters across the nation in the coming months.