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All eyes have been glued to mortgage rates lately as those all-important fees continue their seemingly inexorable upward march.

While average rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 6.95% last week, that figure climbed back to 7.08% for the week ending Nov. 10, according to Freddie Mac.

And if inflation refuses to budge, “mortgage rates are more likely to climb than to slip,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist  Danielle Hale in her analysis.

Yet while interest rates are up, nibbling away at affordability, at least another key metric is heading down to at least partly make up for it: home prices.

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Though it might seem like a weird and highly unromantic question, there are plenty of reasons to ponder this possibility. Basically, this means that although you two might live in the home together, only you would technically “take title” to the property—a fancy way to say that you own it and have your name on the deed. It’s legal—and more common than you might think.

“This is always an option,” says Zachary D. Schorr, a Los Angeles real estate attorney. “People are free to take title to property however they want.”

Plus, however it might look at first glance, keeping your spouse off the deed isn’t necessarily a vote of no confidence in the marriage. Particularly for couples entering second or late-in-life marriages, it can make a whole lot of sense. Here’s why you might consider this arrangement, including the pros and cons.

Benefits of buying a house without your spouse

Having only one name on a property’s deed can be a good move for several reasons.

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Michael Bidwill, whose family has owned the Arizona Cardinals football team since the 1930s, has announced it’s time to move closer to family. This means his home in Paradise Valley, AZ, is on the market for $5.8 million.

The six-bedroom, seven-bath mansion measures more than 8,500 square feet and sits on an acre and a third. It has commanding views of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, Mummy Mountain, and Camelback Mountain.

There’s also a two-bedroom guesthouse with its own two-car garage.

The 2003 build offers deluxe living quarters.

If you have that bag of perfectly squishy marshmallows for s’mores, some new outdoor chairs, and a friend who tells a chilling ghost story, a DIY fire pit is all you need to bring all of these elements together for summer—as well as spring, fall, and winter—nights in your backyard or on your concrete patio.

According to the American Society of Landscape Architects, backyard fire pits were 2016’s top outdoor design element. And they’re a perfect DIY project. Sure, you can buy all kinds of premade outdoor fire features, or even a tabletop fire pit. But if you want to go full paleo, check out these tips on how to build a DIY fire pit in your backyard, from why you need a fire pit liner to the choice between wood-burning fire pits and gas fire pits.

Building a DIY fire pit

Gisela Hausmann, an avid DIY home improver who wrote a book about building your own fire pit, stresses that you never set one up near low-hanging branches or close to a structure that could easily catch fire, including a deck. Choose a flat, level spot in your yard or on your patio that has plenty of room for the seating area. Also consider the size of the pit.

If you decide to construct a fire pit on your concrete patio, be aware that the heat will eventually damage or mar the surface. It’s a safe place to build a fire ring, if you don’t mind a permanent mark on the concrete.

“If you plan to grill hot dogs and watch the flames dance, a standard 36-inch-wide pit will do fine,” says Hausmann. Just make sure to stake out the DIY pit before building so you can eyeball the dimensions.

Photo by @househomo via Instagram

Buying new furniture and accessories isn’t the only way to overhaul your home’s interior. In fact, one of our favorite approaches to updating decor involves beautifying your walls.

DIY wall designs are useful in spaces like bedrooms where you’re unlikely to switch up your furniture. So for this week’s roundup of trending Instagram decor, we chose to feature five DIY wall designs you can easily re-create over the weekend.

Whether you’re looking to bring a splash of color to your bedroom or you’re aiming to go all-out with a unique wall mural or wallpaper display, this list has something for every kind of bedroom.

1. Paint a lively wall mural

If you have a blank wall and leftover paint from other projects, you’re well on your way to re-creating this look from mural artist @househomo.

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Sure, rent is expensive, and sometimes that means you’ve got to take on a roomie in order to pay the monthly bills. But what happens if your roommate turns to the dark side—i.e., doesn’t pay rent, invites his entire rugby team over every night for drinks until dawn, or otherwise makes your home environment too hard to handle? Can you evict your roommate, or are you stuck with this person for good?

To get the lowdown on what’s legal, we talked to Robert Pellegrini, president of PK Boston, a real estate and collections law firm with offices in Boston.

Here’s what renters can do when a roommate relationship heads south.

Evicting a roommate who’s not paying rent

This one seems clear-cut, but it can get messy if the terms of your payments aren’t carefully spelled out in your lease. For instance, if the rent is $1,000 per month but the lease doesn’t break it down between the two tenants, then you’re jointly responsible for paying it. So if your roommate falls short, “both of you would probably get evicted if rent is not met, even if you’ve paid your half,” says Pellegrini. 

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No, it’s not leaping into buyer mode by picking out a real estate agent who has pretty homes, setting up a home inspection, and then moving in your sectional couch.

Real estate agents agree that long before you peruse listings or check out open houses, you should talk to a lender about your credit score, so that you can secure a mortgage.

“Talk to your bank or a reputable mortgage company to see what you qualify to purchase,” explains Rosanne Nitti, a Realtor® with RMN Investments & Realty Services, in Laguna Beach, CA.

Here are more step-by-step home-buying details, including information about down payments, closing costs, mortgage rates, pre-approved mortgages, and more. Once you’ve figured out this (seemingly) long-term financial process, a real estate agent can help you become a home buyer with these next steps, like choosing between apartments or single-family homes, home inspections, and so on.

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A gorgeous, 6,000-square-foot Victorian in Rome, GA, featured in Season 4 of the Netflix show “Stranger Things” is this week’s most popular listing on Realtor.com®.

Known as the Creel House on the show, the seven-bedroom home boasts many unique details, including an antique wall safe. The house was recently renovated, but whether demogorgons are included in the sale remains to be seen.

Other digs that drew your clicks include a New Hampshire beauty with an indoor “birdhouse,” a groovy pad in Indiana, and a tiny hunting cabin in Vermont.

For a full look at this week’s 10 most popular homes, keep scrolling.

This is a question that often comes up when you’re purchasing a home with a down payment of less than 20%, or refinancing your home with less than 20% in home equity. That’s when lender will typically require private mortgage insurance—better known as PMI.

You’re financing the home purchase with less skin-in-the-game when you make a smaller down payment, so mortgage lenders view these loans as slightly riskier than loans with an 80% or lower loan-to-value ratio. Your lender will reduce the risk to the financial institution and still be willing to approve a loan for you by requiring PMI, which is insurance that protects the lender in case you default on the loan.

Private mortgage insurance costs

While PMI covers the lender, you will be required to pay the premiums. The amount you will pay is up to the private mortgage insurance provider and will be based on your credit score and the loan-to-value ratio on the property you are purchasing. For example, someone with a credit score below 700 who makes a down payment of 5% will pay a higher premium than a borrower with a credit score of 760 who makes a down payment of 15%.

Your private mortgage insurance payments will automatically be canceled when your loan-to-value ratio reaches 78% according to your loan amortization schedule; but if you pay extra to reduce your principal balance, your home rises in value over time, or you make significant improvements that increase its value, you can pay for an appraisal and request that your PMI be canceled earlier.

Options for paying PMI

There are three common ways of paying PMI that most lenders offer. You can sometimes combine two of these options if you prefer.

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Looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to the surprises tucked inside this magical “Alice in Wonderland”-like find for $785,000 in Pikesville, MD.

The home’s traditional-looking, two-story exterior doesn’t hint at the splashy designs behind its front door.

Expect to be wowed with over-the-top details, including zebra-print carpeted stairs, a mirrored dining room with a wallpaper-lined ceiling, and a bathroom awash in polka dots.

‘Eccentric and whimsical’

“The home is completely unique, eccentric and whimsical,” says Patricia Spigel, a listing agent with Compass. “A lot of love went into every choice that the sellers put in there.”

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Some sobering news: For would-be buyers who have had their home searches foiled or delayed by soaring mortgage interest rates, the housing market is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Mortgage rates are expected to keep rising after new indicators showed that inflation rose 7.7% year over year in October, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released on Thursday. The U.S. Federal Reserve has been hiking its interest rates in an all-out war against stubbornly high inflation, leading to the surge in mortgage rates.

The hikes appear to be making a dent as inflation was down a little from 8.2% year over year in September. But it was still high enough that the Fed is likely to continue to shock the economy with more rate hikes that are pushing the nation to the brink of a recession.

When the Fed raises its rates, mortgage rates typically follow—much to the displeasure of homebuyers. Those higher mortgage rates have priced many first-time buyers out of homeownership, while others have been forced to drastically reduce their budgets and expectations.

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Jonathan and Drew Scott love to shed their adult shoes and horse around like kids, so they are delighted by the house they see on the latest episode of their show “Property Brothers: Forever Home.”

In the “All Grown Up” episode, the Scott brothers head to a house in Manhattan Beach, CA, where every room is filled with toys, games, puzzles, and play equipment designed to inspire activity, wonder, and imagination.

Homeowners Janice and Mark had designed it this way for their three children. But now that the children are pre-teen and into more mature pursuits, that rope jungle gym in the living room isn’t getting used much anymore.

HGTV

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Saddle up! Here’s your chance to claim a corner of Colorado’s storied cowboy culture.

The Old Town Square in Silverton is situated in an old mining town. The historic square is a tourist destination, and most of the attractions on it are included in the $1.6 million asking price.

“There is a train that runs from Durango to Silverton,” says listing agent Olivia Barrett, with Re/Max Pinnacle. “It’s a block away from where the train comes in, so there’s so much foot traffic.”

Woods Photography

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Home prices continued to churn higher even as mortgage interest rates jumped, keeping the housing market pricey and competitive.

Across the country, the average home price was 8.6% higher in the third quarter of the year compared with a year ago, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors®. That shows that demand for housing remains strong, despite the higher prices and mortgage rates.

However, buyers had to pay up. The monthly mortgage payment on the average house was $1,840, the report found, up a whopping 50% from a year ago.

That meant buyers had to earn quite a bit more to afford a home. They needed to make about $88,300 to purchase the typical home, nearly $40,000 more than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NAR.

Photos courtesy of Caroline Myers Interior Design / Patrick Prudhomme at Sheffield Furniture & Interiors / RND Technology via Houzz

Inflation, recession, supply chain problems—apparently, none of these things will stop homeowners from fixing up their humble abodes.

A new survey from Houzz polling 4,000 homeowners in October found that only 1% had canceled a home improvement project recently. On the contrary, it’s full steam ahead: More than a third (37%) proudly say they’ve finished a home renovation project in 2022, with half of this cohort saying they’ll start hammering away on new upgrades starting next year.

These survey results underscore how undeterred homeowners are when it comes to making their homes more comfortable, “despite various industry and economic headwinds,” notes Houzz economist Marine Sargsyan.

Even more surprising? Folks aren’t fixing up their houses with the intention of selling anytime soon. They’re in it for the long haul.

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The numbers: The housing sector continues to face headwinds.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.08% as of Nov. 10, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday.

The 30-year was last at this level in mid-2002.

That’s up 13 basis points from the previous week—one basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point, or 1% of 1%.

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The best way to seal granite countertops is a bit of knowledge that you’d better have if you’re a homeowner—that is, if this granite surface is where you prep your meals. While this natural stone countertop might seem invincible, granite is actually porous (much like marble), which means that substances can easily seep in.

“Oil, water, juice, ink—any liquids or spills, really—can soak in and stain granite,” says Emily Long, a home improvement expert with SafeWise. To keep this from happening, most granite countertops are covered in a sealant. But this layer can wear off over time, so it’s up to you to reapply to your granite as needed.

Luckily, sealing granite countertops is something most homeowners can do themselves by purchasing granite sealer at their local hardware store. If you want your granite to continue looking great and last for ages, check out these steps on how to seal granite countertops.

How often should you seal granite countertops?

The answer for sealing depends on what type of natural stone you have installed on your kitchen countertops.

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The rapper, singer, and songwriter known as Future is about to turn on the lights in the $16.3 million bachelor pad in Miami Beach, FL, that he just purchased.

Located on the gated Allison Island, the 8,897-square-foot residence is situated on 75 feet of water frontage on an inlet that connects to Biscayne Bay.

The property comes with a private dock, with plenty of space for a yacht.

Between the water and the mansion is a row of palm trees, an expanse of green lawn, a sparkling pool and spa, and an outdoor lounge space and kitchen.

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True to its name, this type of home is shaped like the letter A, with walls that begin near the foundation and slope upward at a slant, meeting to form a triangle.

If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a teepee, an A-frame may be the closest you’ll ever get. Sometimes quirky and quaint, sometimes sleek and modern, these triangle-shaped houses have spiked in popularity of late.

Key characteristics

While its triangular shape is its key characteristic, there are other features that make A-frame homes what they are, both inside and out. They typically include the following features:

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Selling a home is no longer the easy feat it was last year—or even six months ago.

Between the news that we already seem to be slipping into an unofficial recession and a serious home market slowdown, many sellers feel like they’re facing a Sisyphean task. The Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate hike of 0.75% is expected to push up mortgage rates that had already reached a 20-year high, putting further pressure on a stressed market.

But if you’re in a position to sell, there’s no reason to give up hope.

You might not be able to bank on receiving multiple offers over your home’s asking price. But with a little foresight and strategic thinking, you’ll be scheduling the moving trucks in no time.