The markets with the highest investor activity in 2018, according to the report are:

• Detroit: 27% (investor purchase share)
• Philadelphia: 23.3%
• Memphis, Tenn.: 19.7%
• Long Island, N.Y.: 18.8%
• Oklahoma City: 18.7%
• Atlanta: 18.5%
• Des Moines: 17.2%
• Baltimore: 17.2%
• Camden, N.J.: 16.7%
• Cleveland: 16.7%

The Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a five-year extension to the National Flood Insurance Program, the nation’s largest flood insurer. The bill also includes a mandate to improve the country’s flood maps.

Congress has approved several short-term extensions to the NFIP in recent years. This latest bill would provide a longer means of support to the program, which is billions of dollars in debt.

Congress recently voted to extend the NFIP to Sept. 30, but the program’s fate is unknown after that date unless Congress acts to extend the NFIP again or propose a longer-term solution.

The National Association of REALTORS® has been working with lawmakers to avoid a lapse of the NFIP, which the association estimates could jeopardize up to 40,000 home sales a month. Flooding is the most common disaster in the United States, and the NFIP serves Americans in more than 20,000 communities nationwide. The program provides flood insurance to more than 5 million U.S. homes.

Federal law requires the purchase of flood insurance for a federally backed mortgage in special flood hazard areas designated by FEMA. Private flood insurance is also available in many high-risk areas, but the NFIP may be the only option for some homeowners.

The bill that the Financial Services Committee approved on Tuesday would allocate $500 million a year over five years to update flood maps and better identify high-risk areas for flooding. The bill also provides a provision that would allow borrowers who left the program to take out private flood insurance to later return, if needed, without having to pay a penalty.

The bill will now go before the full House for approval. The Senate must be then approve it to bring it to President Donald Trump.

The right home improvements could help shave energy bills by up to 35% or unlock up to $627 in annual savings, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Steve Chalk, who recently retired from his work at the department, told CNBC that a home energy assessment can help determine what the best savings projects are for a homeowner to take on.

Home energy audits cost about $400, but the price greatly depends on the type of residence and its location.

“You could easily have payback for that [assessment] in a couple of years,” Chalk says. “You’re not only saving money in the long term, but your house is more comfortable, and your air quality can be better.”

Some of the big items that are sending energy costs higher in many homes: proper insulation, incandescent lighting, or air conditioners that aren’t the correct size.

Chalk says one of the most common mistakes he sees is that many homeowners have an air conditioning system that is too large. Therefore, it does not run as long as smaller ones, Chalk says. “[That] might sound energy-efficient, but it’s not,” he says.

Sealing up air leaks in heating and air conditioning ducts or crawl spaces can also offer energy savings, Chalk says.

Even small changes can add up, too. For example, switching from incandescent lighting to LEDs can increase a home energy efficiency by about 85% alone, he says. Programmable thermostats and power strips can also help save on bills.

Some cities offer incentives to help offset energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades. Check the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency website to search for incentives by state.

Over the last few years, some homeowners have swapped out spacious digs for 300-square-foot homes, favoring simplicity and lower costs. The tiny-home trend has played out on reality TV shows and throughout the media. But a new trend is emerging in the tiny-home movement—and it’s making a not-so-tiny splash.

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Buyers of tiny homes are increasingly favoring larger styles of the small dwellings, and they’re opting for higher-end finishes that are moving overall costs higher, realtor.com® reports. Some buyers want more space for their own enjoyment. Others are turning these tiny homes into vacation homes or renting them out for added income.

The newest tiny homes are coming with stainless steel appliances, solar panels, built-in TVs, and upgraded cabinetry, Mark Stemen, a professor who teaches sustainability at California State University in Chico, Calif., told realtor.com®. These upgraded tiny homes are now fetching more than $200,000. That’s not too far from the median price for an existing single-family home, which is $267,300 as of April, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

The higher prices are prompting lenders to step in. Banks are offering loans to help buyers afford these properties as prices on tiny residences rise. “The tiny-house movement is expanding to meet the desires and needs of the people who are in it and joining it every day,” Coles Whalen, a marketing director at Simple Life, told realtor.com®. Simple Life is creating tiny-home communities in the South and recently debuted a pricier two-bedroom model that is about 540 square feet. “It’s adapting to accommodate the needs of people who are tired of spending money on square footage they’re not using, but they may want slightly more [room],” she says.

Tiny homes traditionally are about 20 feet long and 8 feet wide. However, some companies are responding to buyers’ desire for more space. The firm Cumming is showing off 30-foot plans, and the owner, Dan Louche, says he’s even getting requests for 40-foot models. “Are you still interested in a tiny house?” he says is his response to the larger home requests.

A DIY 20-foot tiny home traditionally costs about $15,000 to $20,000, including materials but not labor, Louche says. Prices have been moving upwards to around $65,000 to $75,000 for a standard 28-foot finished tiny home, but the costs are going even higher for those who desire more upgrades. For example, Tiny Heirloom in Portland, Ore., is selling customized models that can range from $89,000 to $220,000. One model includes a motorized deck that retracts in 30 seconds.

About 19% of U.S. households say they expect to move over the next year—the highest reading for May in two years, according to the Survey of Consumer Expectations report, released from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The trend of more homeowners showing an openness to move has been on the rise ever since mortgage rates began to dip this year.

“We expected more people to be ready to get into the market because of the low mortgage rates and rising wages, but some have remained on the sidelines,” Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, told HousingWire. Economic uncertainties may still be causing some potential buyers to be hesitant, he notes.

The percentage of households that say they’re ready to move is also shy from the recent six-year high posted in March of 21.7%. But overall, the trend of households showing a willingness to move has been elevated over the past year.

Homeowners may be feeling richer. The average homeowner gained $6,400 in home equity between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of this year, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. Some states saw two-figure gains, such as in Nevada, where homeowners gained about $21,000 in home equity over the past year, and in Idaho, where they gained $20,700.

Household income is also rising. Inflation-adjusted household income is 15% higher than the postrecession low from June 2011, but it’s still been a gradual climb. The U.S. median annual household income was $64,016 in April, according to Sentier Research.

“Real median household income has continued to display an upward trend over the past 12 months,” says Gordon Green of Sentier Research. “We continue to monitor the course of inflation, as this has a significant effect on the trend in real median annual household income. We are at a point now where real median household income is 4.2% higher than January 2000. Not an impressive performance by any means over a period spanning almost two decades, but the overall trend line has been positive for about seven years.”