Interest Rates and the Market
Since 1971, when Freddie Mac began tracking fixed-rate mortgage rates, the average 30-year rate has been 7.85%. Current rates in the 6.5% range are well below this 54-year average. Rates have already adjusted lower over the summer in anticipation of the Federal Reserve cutting bank rates later this year. I remember purchasing my first home at 13.5% interest; a rate we thought was great at the time, since a few years earlier, rates were nearly 17%! The 1980s were brutal, with rapidly inflating prices for homes, food, and consumer goods, and extremely high mortgage rates resulting from Federal action to control inflation.
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Single-Family Median Home Prices
Median home sales prices for July 2025 in Thurston County were around $545,000. Today, prices sit closer to $520,000 (last year at this time: $529,000). Similar trends though sometimes varying by season are happening nationwide. Over the past century, home prices have cycled up and down, with an average unadjusted increase of 3–4% per year. When adjusted for inflation, that increase is virtually flat at 0.1%. Understanding the details behind these numbers, including time periods and inflation assumptions, is critical.
Single-Family Owning vs. Renting – Cost of Housing
Owning a median-priced 3-bedroom, 2-bath home today would cost about $5,000 per month when considering all costs. Renting the same property would cost around $3,000 per month (rent $2,600 plus insurance, utilities, and minor maintenance). I have never seen this gap—40% more costly to own, so large in my 37 years of investing, operating, and managing rentals! When I first started, owning or renting was actually about the same.
Single-Family Rents
Seasonally adjusted rents are stable. Despite the standard narrative, the median household income and median rental price in Thurston and Pierce Counties are almost perfectly aligned. That alignment does not exist if you are trying to buy (see notes above).
Coming Soon
What do these trends mean for investors, renters, and property managers? Stay tuned for the next update!
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Are You Paying Too Much to Own or Rent?
Don’t wait—read our market analysis before you sign your next lease or mortgage!