THIS WEEK

What changed this week in future affordability

A factual changelog from Aspire's committed rate-data refresh. Values are trailing CAGRs at these assumptions, with sources and as-of dates shown.

Issue 2026-08-17 · Source data as of 2026-08-17 · Refresh threshold 0.05 percentage points

7 tracked cost-vector moves crossed 0.05 percentage points. Each row shows the prior and current trailing CAGR at these assumptions.
Weekly mover chart for the 2026-08-17 Aspire rate refresh

Moved up

  • Home — San Francisco, CA
    Previous CAGR at these assumptions3.68%
    Current CAGR at these assumptions3.75%
    Move+0.07 pp

    Home — San Francisco, CA rose 0.07 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: Zillow ZHVI. As of 2026-08-17.

Moved down

  • Home — Dallas, TX
    Previous CAGR at these assumptions5.62%
    Current CAGR at these assumptions5.52%
    Move-0.10 pp

    Home — Dallas, TX fell 0.10 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: Zillow ZHVI. As of 2026-08-17.

  • Home — Nashville, TN
    Previous CAGR at these assumptions6.79%
    Current CAGR at these assumptions6.69%
    Move-0.10 pp

    Home — Nashville, TN fell 0.10 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: Zillow ZHVI. As of 2026-08-17.

  • Home — Portland, OR
    Previous CAGR at these assumptions4.55%
    Current CAGR at these assumptions4.45%
    Move-0.10 pp

    Home — Portland, OR fell 0.10 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: Zillow ZHVI. As of 2026-08-17.

  • Home — Seattle, WA
    Previous CAGR at these assumptions6.38%
    Current CAGR at these assumptions6.29%
    Move-0.09 pp

    Home — Seattle, WA fell 0.09 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: Zillow ZHVI. As of 2026-08-17.

  • Home — Austin, TX
    Previous CAGR at these assumptions3.87%
    Current CAGR at these assumptions3.79%
    Move-0.08 pp

    Home — Austin, TX fell 0.08 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: Zillow ZHVI. As of 2026-08-17.

  • Home — Charlotte, NC
    Previous CAGR at these assumptions7.32%
    Current CAGR at these assumptions7.24%
    Move-0.08 pp

    Home — Charlotte, NC fell 0.08 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: Zillow ZHVI. As of 2026-08-17.

Unchanged notables

Vector Current CAGR Source As of Window
Cost of living (CPI) 3.32% at these assumptions FRED 2026-08-17 2016-07-01 to 2026-07-01 (10 years)
Home — US national (Case-Shiller) 6.39% at these assumptions FRED 2026-08-17 2016-05-01 to 2026-05-01 (10 years)
Rent — US (CPI rent of primary residence) 4.20% at these assumptions BLS CPI-U, Rent of primary residence, U.S. city average, NSA 2026-08-17 2016-07-01 to 2026-07-01 (10 years)
Homeowner carrying costs (tax + insurance + upkeep) 3.60% at these assumptions Composite — see methodology 2026-05-31 2015-12-01 to 2025-12-01 (10 years)
Healthcare 2.50% at these assumptions FRED 2026-08-17 2016-07-01 to 2026-07-01 (10 years)
Childcare — day care and preschool 4.67% at these assumptions BLS CPI-U, Day care and preschool, U.S. city average, NSA 2026-08-17 2021-07-01 to 2026-07-01 (5 years)
Private K-12 tuition 3.70% at these assumptions BLS API:CUUR0000SEEB02 2026-08-17 2016-07-01 to 2026-07-01 (10 years)
S&P 500 Total Return 15.08% at these assumptions Yahoo Finance:^SP500TR 2026-08-17 2016-07-01 to 2026-07-01 (10 years)

Sources and method

Trailing compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Most rows use 10-year windows; childcare uses the 5-year methodology source-audit window. Equities/gold/BTC: monthly closes from Yahoo Finance; sp500 uses ^GSPC price-index closes, while sp500_total_return uses ^SP500TR dividends-reinvested total return. CPI sub-indices + national home: FRED/BLS monthly series. Metro-level homes: Zillow ZHVI (SFR + condo mid-tier, smoothed, seasonally adjusted). Metro-level rents: Zillow ZORI (all homes + multifamily, smoothed, seasonally adjusted). Tuition: College Board Trends in College Pricing (annual).

This page reports trailing source data from rates.json. It does not recommend any asset, account, allocation, security, mortgage, insurance product, or financial action.

See methodology