Housing starts posted “healthy gains” in recent weeks as homebuilders feel more confident about the new-home market, the National Association of Home Builders reports.

Led by an increase in multifamily production, total housing starts surged 12.3% in August, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. This marks the highest level since May 2007.

Single-family starts rose 4.4% in August, reaching 919,000 units. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, led the gains in August at a jump of 32.8%, to a 445,000 pace.

“Housing has been on an upswing in recent months as the pace of permits and starts has been rising since spring,” says Robert Dietz, the NAHB’s chief economist. “While these are positive developments, single-family starts are down 2.7 percent year-to-date as the catch-up process continues.”

Builders continue to wrestle with affordability concerns from “extensive regulations and other supply-side challenges,” such as lot and labor shortages, adds Greg Ugalde, the NAHB’s chairman.

Regionally, combined single-family and multifamily starts in August rose 4.4% in the South, while falling 18% in the Northeast, by 5.6% in the Midwest, and by 11.3% in the West.

However, last month’s overall increase in construction nationwide should continue in the coming weeks. Housing permits, a gauge of future production, ticked up 7.7% last month to a pace of 1.42 million annualized units. Single-family permits rose 4.5% to a 866,000 rate, while multifamily permits increased 13.3% to a 553,000 pace.

Fewer homes were flipped by investors in the second quarter compared with the same quarter one year ago as profits grew smaller, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2019 U.S. Home Flipping Report. Homes flipped in the second quarter were down 5.2% from a year ago. Overall, home flips in the second quarter comprised 5.9% of all home sales during the quarter.

Investors are seeing fewer profits from their flips. Homes flipped in the second quarter generated a gross profit of $62,700—the difference between the median sales price and the median paid by investors, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. That is down 2% from a year ago. The average profit translated into a 39.9% return on investment compared to the original purchase price, down from 40.9% in the first quarter.

“Home flipping keeps getting less and less profitable, which is another marker that the postrecession housing boom is softening or may be coming to an end,” says Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. “Flipping houses is still a good business to be in and profits are healthy in most parts of the country. But push-and-pull forces in the housing market appear to be working less and less in investors’ favor. That’s leading to declining profits and a business that is nowhere near as good as it was a few years ago.”

Many areas are seeing a decrease on returns on investment from flipping. The largest ROI drops in the second quarter were in Raleigh, N.C.; Savannah, Ga.; San Antonio, Texas; Springfield, Mo.; and Baton Rouge, La.

Still, some investors are betting on home flipping in some markets. Home flipping was the most common—with rates of at least 25%—in the following markets during the second quarter:

• Pima County, Ariz.: 85714 (ZIP code) at 32.4% home flipping rate
• Cuyahoga County, Ohio: 44110 at 31%
• Shelby County, Tenn.: 38109 at 30.1%
• Camden County, N.J.: 08083 at 28.6%
• Shelby County, Tenn.: 38118 at 28%

Americans are getting anxious about their debt. About one-third—34%—of Americans’ monthly income goes toward paying off debt. It’s no wonder 45% of Americans say debt makes them feel anxious on at least a monthly basis, according to the latest findings from the Northwestern Mutual’s 2019 Planning & Progress Study, based on a survey of about 2,000 American adults.

U.S. adults aged 18 and older reported having an average of $29,800 in personal debt, which excludes mortgages. That does mark an improvement over last year, when personal debt averaged $38,000.

Still, consumers are plenty worried about it. One in five respondents say that their debt makes them feel physically ill at least once a month.

Generation X reported the highest levels of personal debt with $36,000, on average, followed by baby boomers at $28,600. Millennials and Gen Z had the lowest at $27,900 and $14,700, respectively.

“The road to financial security is long, even in the best of circumstances,” says Emily Holbrook, senior director of planning at Northwestern Mutual. “By carrying high levels of personal debt, that road gets even longer, often requiring all kinds of detours and other twists and turns. The fact that there’s been some year-over-year improvement in debt levels is good, but the numbers still remain worryingly high.”

The leading sources of debt for most consumers is mortgages and credit cards, the study finds. Gen Xers and baby boomers noted that mortgages are their leading sources of debt, followed by credit card bills. Millennials cite credit cards bills as their main source of debt while Gen Z says personal education loans is theirs.

Congress is expected to extend the National Flood Insurance Program before it expires Sept. 30, but less clear is when Congress will turn to meaningful program reforms the National Association of REALTORS® and other housing groups have advocated for years.

Outdated federal flood maps—some of which haven’t been updated in more than 40 years, housing experts warn—may be influencing homeowners not to seek proper flood insurance if they falsely believe they don’t live in a high risk floodplain. NAR has long called on reforming the maps, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency uses to assess flood risk and crisis response.

Insurance premiums are also failing to reflect the true risk to properties, NFIP CEO David Maurstad told the McClatchy Company in a recent article. “We’ve been working to make sure people understand right now that not enough people have the flood insurance they need—not only after big events like Dorian,” Maurstad says. “Too many people are in denial about their flood risk.”

Congress has already extended the NFIP, which provides flood insurance coverage to 22,000 communities nationwide, 12 times. Lawmakers are expected to extend the NFIP for at least another 60 days, but NAR analysts say Congress has yet to reach a decision point on a long-term solution. McClatchy reports that divisions persist in Congress between representatives from many areas of the country—especially along the coasts—and those from lower-risk regions inland.

Meteorologists warn that rising sea levels and increasingly powerful storms will continue to threaten more areas with flooding. NFIP protects property owners against flooding, which is the most common and costly natural disaster in the U.S.

A master bedroom is meant to be a peaceful place to relax and recharge. That’s why designers say a lot of attention needs to go into its look: to make sure it fulfills that purpose. Design experts also say an uninviting master retreat could negatively affect resale value, so there’s more at stake in the bedroom design than a restful sleep.

“One thing to keep in mind is that form follows function, meaning the visual appearance of your bedroom comes second to bedroom functionality—especially since roughly one-third of your life is spent in your bedroom,” Michael DiMartino, senior vice president of installations at Power Home Remodeling in Chester, Pa., told realtor.com®.

Design experts shared with realtor.com® some of the most common bedroom design mistakes they see, including:

Having too large an empty space. Spacious bedrooms are usually a plus, but you don’t need to go overboard. “Between a bed, nightstands, one or two dressers, and maybe an armchair, there’s only so much furniture that goes in a bedroom,” Nathan Outlaw, president of Onvico, a design and construction company in Thomasville, Ga., told realtor.com®. A room that is too large can feel empty and uninviting, he says.

Forgetting a TV. Most people want a television in the master bedroom, and it’s a good idea to at least stage one if selling. “We find about 70% of our clients want a TV in the bedroom,” says Thomas B. Wagner, a residential architect in Haddonfield, N.J. Jennifer Okhovat, a real state pro with Compass in Los Angeles, told realtor.com® that she fields a request for bedrooms with TVs often. “I’m selling a home right now with two guest bedrooms, and one of the biggest objections I am getting from buyers is that there is nowhere to put a TV,” she says.

Disregarding the closet size. “The design of closet space is quite important,” Amy Berglund with RE/MAX Professionals in Colorado told realtor.com®. “It’s a big turnoff to show a closet that is crammed with clothes and shoeboxes because the closet hasn’t been thoughtfully designed with proper shelving, baskets, etc.” Real estate and staging pros advise making sure there is enough hanging space for longer clothing pieces. Also, make sure the shelving isn’t so high that it isn’t accessible. In some cases, you may need to add a ladder to the design or show a stepstool.

Four bank giants have united to form a coalition to urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to change its Ability to Repay/Qualified Mortgage rule and eliminate the debt-to-income ratio requirement. Bank of America, Quicken Loans, Wells Fargo, and Caliber Home Loans are leading the calls for a change.

The Ability to Repay or Qualified Mortgage rule was created by the CFPB following the financial crisis. It sets requirements for lenders to verify that a borrower has the ability to repay a mortgage before lending them money. As part of that process, a borrower’s monthly debt-to-income ratio must be determined not to exceed 43%.

The DTI requirement does not apply to loans that are backed by the government, such as through the Federal Housing Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac. Some critics argue that gives the GSEs an unfair advantage over private loans, which must meet the DTI mandate.

However, the CFPB has said it would allow the QM Patch—the stipulation that allows Fannie and Freddie to bypass that DTI requirement—to expire as scheduled on 2021. The GSEs will then be required to follow the same DTI rule as private lenders.

The banks’ coalition efforts have recently been joined by other housing groups—such as the Mortgage Bankers Association, American Bankers Association, and the National Fair Housing Alliance. They’ve sent a letter to the CFPB asking for it to eliminate the 43% DTI cap on prime and near-prime loans. They argue that it’s limiting lending outside of a GSE-backed loan. They also are arguing that a DTI ratio on its own merit is not a reliable indictor of a borrower’s ability to repay.

“Elimination of the DTI requirement for prime and near-prime loans would preserve access to sustainable credit for the new generation of first-time homebuyers in a safe and sustainable way and in accordance with the fundamental ATR requirements,” the group notes in its letter to the CFPB. “This change is especially important for reaching historically underserved borrowers, including low- to moderate-income households, and communities of color.”