Home prices surging has been squeezing housing affordability. Seventy-five percent of the U.S. counties recently analyzed had less affordable median-priced single-family homes in the third quarter compared to their historical averages, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm.

Home prices are rising faster than wages in most of the country. Record low mortgage rates have helped home buyers offset some of these higher prices.

Major ownership costs on the typical home accounted for nearly 25% of the average national wage of $64,857 in the third quarter, according to the study. ATTOM’s report factors housing affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed to meet monthly homeownership expenses, including mortgage, property taxes, and insurance on a median-priced home. It assumes a 20% down payment and a 28% maximum debt-to-income ratio.

Still, while housing affordability has been stretched, major homeownership expenses on a typical home are still affordable to average local wage earners in 53% of the counties analyzed, according to the report.

On the other hand, the following markets are where the highest annual wages are needed to afford a median-priced home.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to offer forbearance indefinitely to qualifying multifamily property owners as part of their ongoing COVID-19 protection.

This marks the fourth extension the FHFA has made to the programs. The latest were set to expire Sept. 30.

“Given the uncertain nature of this pandemic, the FHFA is taking further action to protect renters, property owners, and the mortgage market,” says Sandra L. Thompson, acting director of the FHFA.

Property owners with Fannie Mae– or Freddie Mac–backed multifamily mortgages can enter a new or modified forbearance if they experience a financial hardship due to the pandemic’s impact on their business operations. Property owners must inform tenants in writing about tenant protections available during the forbearance and repayment periods. They also must agree not to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent while the property is in forbearance.

Additional tenant protections are in place when the repayment period starts.

For more information, visit consumerfinance.gov/housing on relief options.

Certain words and phrases you use may undermine your authority and professionalism. Lifehacker.com recently spotlighted some of these common “apprehensive phrases” that make you sound less confident. Here are a few words that made their list:

“Just”

“When we introduce our questions and ideas with this four-letter word—‘I’m just following up,’ ‘Just wanted to add…’—the undertone is one of apology,” writes Sarah Showfety for Lifehacker.com. “It’s a subtle preemptive excuse for potentially disturbing someone. It minimizes our power, and sounds as if we’re asking for permission to speak—something confident speakers rarely do.”

“Sorry (to bother you…)”

There’s no need to apologize: “Sorry if this has been said before…” “Sorry for venting…” or even to co-workers: “Sorry, can you tell me how much this is?” Those who apologize needlessly appear more timid, according to Canadian sociologist Maja Jovanovic. Replace the “sorry”s with “I’d like to add…” or “why don’t we try this” or “thank you.”

“Does that make sense?” or “Do you know what I’m saying?”

“If we think we’re rambling, or don’t have the words to clearly convey our point, there are a few solid alternatives to looking for external validation that we’re not being too confusing,” Showfety writes. Instead, try “Let me rephrase that” or “There’s a lot I’d like to say about this” or “This is a new idea for me.”

Let more light into your home and you can lower your anxiety and stress levels and even improve your sleep. Increasing daylight in a home can affect a person’s circadian rhythm, sleep, vitality, and mental health, according to a newly published, peer-reviewed paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

“The study demonstrates the impact of daylight on the physiological, behavioral, and subjective measures of circadian health in a real-world environment,” says Mariana G. Figueiro, senior author of the paper. “The findings highlight the importance of ensuring people are exposed to circadian-effective electric light or daylight indoors as well as outside for human health and well-being.”

Light-to-dark cycles are important for circadian rhythms, the internal process that controls sleep. As more people spent time at home during the pandemic, the importance of balancing this may have become even more important, researchers note.

The study, conducted by the Light and Health Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, shows “smart windows,” electrochromic glass windows that tint dynamically based on the location of the sun, may help filter the light better than blinds and window shades, offering a boosted psychological benefit.

In the study, researchers tracked participants first in homes with smart windows and then in homes with standard windows and blinds. The study’s participants wore sleep-tracking devices and completed surveys on their health and well-being.

After one week, melatonin production in the body was delayed by 15 minutes when participants used traditional blinds, researchers found. That caused them to fall asleep 22 minutes later and sleep 16 minutes less each night.

On the other hand, when in homes with smart windows, participants showed an 11% reduction in anxiety levels and a 9% decrease in stress levels compared with the week when they used the traditional windows.

“When it comes to choosing a place to live, access to daylight and quality views are key features for prospective tenants,” Piers MacNaughton, vice president of health strategy at View Inc. “This study shows that daylight and views are not just desirable amenities but also have fundamental impacts on our health and even our hormones.”

Interest rates are expected to soon rise, even as the Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it would keep its benchmark rate near zero. The Fed, however, warned that it was preparing to taper its emergency stimulus efforts from the pandemic, including winding down its bond purchases. That is expected to make mortgage rates rise, as well as rates on credit card and car loans.

“Tapering itself is going to increase yields in the medium- and long-term horizons, which will translate into higher borrowing costs,” Yiming Ma, an assistant finance professor at Columbia University Business School, told CNBC.

The Fed has purchased $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities each month as part of the stimulus program during the pandemic. That has brought a surge of liquidity into the mortgage market. It has allowed lenders to drop interest rates.

Mortgage rates have been ultra-low for over a year. Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.86% last week.

Long-term, fixed mortgage rates will move higher as soon as the Fed starts to slow the pace of bond purchases, Ma told CNBC.

“The moment the Fed starts pulling back, they will have an immediate effect,” George Ratiu, manager of economic research at realtor.com®, told MarketWatch. Even before the Fed does so, rates could rise. Mortgage rates follow long-term bond yields, like the 10-year Treasury note. Long-term bond yields began to rise after the Fed’s statement on Wednesday.

The National Association of REALTORS® has been predicting rates will rise over the next few months: They predict the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 3.5% by mid-2022.

An increasing number of homeowners—particularly younger adults—are seeing their home as a potential revenue stream. They’re more open to renting out their home to generate extra money and help offset the costs of owning, finds a new survey of more than 3,000 consumers conducted by realtor.com®.

Thirty-two percent of consumers say they’ve already rented out a room, space, or outdoor feature of their property. Most often that means taking on a long-term roommate, but they’ve also rented a room on a short-term basis, such as an Airbnb, or rented outdoor spaces, like parking or their yard or pool. Six percent of respondents said they’ve rented their entire home while they were away.

What’s more, 69% of recent home buyers say they would rent out part of their home if it had a separate entrance, kitchen, and bathroom, the survey finds.

“As the next generation of home buyers has embraced ride-sharing and short-term rentals, it’s a natural next step that they begin to think of their biggest asset—their home—as a potential income stream,” says George Ratiu, manager of economic research at realtor.com®. “For people looking to take advantage of the sharing economy, in addition to traditional approaches, it may be worthwhile to explore creative solutions, such as listing your home as a vacation rental when you leave town or renting your outdoor space or pool. Even a small amount of income each month can multiple over a year or more and can turn into bigger returns.”

The main reasons homeowners are showing a willingness to rent out their spaces: extra income for savings (53%), extra spending money (37%), lessening the burden of general monthly expenses (35%), and offsetting major home expenses like the mortgage (29%), the survey shows.

Home prices have been posting double-digit annual increases. Bidding wars have quickly run up prices above list price. But for the most part, home buyers have not taken on more than they can afford.

Americans devote about 21% of their household income toward their monthly mortgage payments, according to a recent report from realtor.com®. That is higher than the monthly average of 19.6% seen over the last decade. But it is below the percentage of household income seen in 25.3% in August 2008, which led up to a housing crisis and the Great Recession.

Buyers today are in better financial shape than they were in 2008, the report said. They earn more money and have higher credit scores. That has allowed them to weather the higher prices: The median existing-home price for all housing types was $359,900 in July, nearly an 18% increase from a year ago, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®.

“The key player in keeping payments reasonable is [mortgage] interest rates,” said Jiayi Xu, a realtor.com® economist. “A lower interest rate can increase buyers’ budgets and make monthly payments lower.”

Mortgage rates have been near historical lows for more than a year. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.86% last week, Freddie Mac reported.

But mortgage rates are expected to rise. NAR is forecasting 30-year rates to rise to 3.5% by mid-2022.

Aside from rising mortgage rates, “if home prices were to keep accelerating by the double digits, that could also be trouble,” realtor.com® said. “Sale prices would need to rise 16.6% to see buyers spending as much of their income on housing as they did in 2008 the housing bubble. This assumes that down payments, mortgage rates, and incomes stay the same.”

If mortgage rates inch up just one-half of a percentage point, more consumers would be spending about 23.9% on housing. But that estimate assumes home prices stay steady from May, realtor.com® researchers said. However, mortgage rates would need to hit 4.2% for 30-year fixed-rate loans to surpass the 2008 record, researchers reported.

Still, “once interest rate increases a little bit, mortgage payments will increase a lot,” Xu said.