Timothy Grant sold a house, went back to college and still can't see a path to homeownership in Washington state.

Grant, 34, is a mechanical engineering senior at the University of Washington Tacoma who lives in Federal Way.

He and his brother bought a fixer-upper in Burien in 2018, planning to renovate and move in. The pandemic sent prices surging, and they sold. Grant put his share toward tuition.

Now those funds are dwindling. He rents a room from a friend and picks up income through a summer internship. After graduation, he isn't sure he'll stay in Washington.

"It would take me working probably five to six years, saving half of my income to just be able to afford the down payment," Grant told KUOW in a profile published Tuesday, Sept. 8, describing the neighborhoods near campus and his former home in Burien.

Grant's dilemma tracks with statewide data. A March 2026 report by the Washington Roundtable, a business advocacy group, found Washington ranks as the fifth most expensive state in the nation.

Prices have risen faster than in any other state, growing twice as fast as California.

Between 2021 and 2023, Washington lost more than 55,000 residents on net, most to lower-cost states.

In Pierce County, the median single-family home price reached $600,000 in August, up 2% from a year earlier, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data reported by The Seattle Times on Friday, Sept. 4.

Across the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, the median monthly mortgage payment, including tax and insurance, topped $5,000 in April, The Seattle Times reported Aug. 12.

Renters face a similar bind. In Tacoma, $1,500 a month gets just under 690 square feet, according to a RentCafe analysis reported by The News Tribune on July 22.

Grant's campus reflects the pressure. The Urbanist reported Aug. 18 that 55% of UW Tacoma students are food insecure and 36% are housing insecure.

The university serves about 5,000 students.

Grant told KUOW he went back to school specifically to rebuild his earning power after losing his foothold in the housing market. UW Tacoma plans to open 400 to 500 new student-housing beds in 2029.