If you’re a first-time homebuyer in Puyallup, you’ve probably run the mental math more than once: rent is lower than a mortgage payment, so isn’t renting the “safer” choice? It’s a fair question — and the honest answer is that the monthly payment is only part of the story. To actually compare the two, you need to factor in what happens to your money over time: home appreciation, the equity you build through your loan paydown, tax benefits, and how rent increases every year while a fixed-rate mortgage payment doesn’t. [Read more…]
Aging in Place in Washington: Homeowners Have Options
July 8, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Editor’s note: This post was inspired by a recent HousingWire interview with Cameron Carter, CEO of Rosarium Health, on why aging in place is shifting from a lifestyle preference to a financial necessity. You can read the full interview here.
Aging in Place Is Becoming a Financial Necessity, Not Just a Preference
For years, “aging in place” has been talked about as a lifestyle choice — the version where you simply prefer your own kitchen to a facility dining room. That framing is changing. In a recent HousingWire interview, Cameron Carter, founder of health-tech startup Rosarium Health, made the case that aging in place is increasingly driven by cost and capacity, not preference: skilled nursing and assisted living have gotten more expensive, and in some states the wait list to get into preferred institutional care runs two to three years. People aren’t just choosing to stay home — in many cases, they’re staying home because there’s nowhere else to go yet. [Read more…]
The Mortgage Porter Weekly | June Jobs Miss, Steady Rates & Total Cost Analysis
July 6, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Job growth came in soft, mortgage rates held steady, and oil prices remain in focus as the situation in the Middle East continues to develop. Here’s your Mortgage Porter Weekly update for the week of July 6th, 2026. [Read more…]
2026 Mortgage Rate Forecast: Midyear Update
July 1, 2026 by 1 Comment
Six months ago, I published my 2026 mortgage rate predictions, and if you’d told me back in December that the biggest driver of rates this year would be a war halfway around the world, I would’ve said that’s not usually how this works. But here we are at the midyear mark, and that’s exactly what happened. Let’s recap what actually unfolded in the first half of 2026 and then get into the updated forecasts for the rest of the year. [Read more…]
Mortgage Rates This Week: Inflation Heats Up, Jobs Data Looms
June 29, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Inflation, jobs data, and a packed holiday week — here’s what you need to know about mortgage rates and the housing market for the week of June 29, 2026. [Read more…]
