Adjectives reflecting the desire for privacy and physical isolation gained a place of prominence: “private,” “covered,” “quiet,” “separate” and “enclosed” were among the top 100 most-used description terms.

The competitive homebuying market showed signs of loosening up last month as bidding wars dropped from May despite being higher than they were a year ago.

It could take Boston-area renters more than a decade to save for a down payment in today’s market.

Boston rents rose sharply last month, the sixth straight month of rent increases across the city.

Boston wasn’t the only Massachusetts city or town on the list. Seven other Massachusetts locales were ranked in the report. See how they all stacked up.

Despite an average nationwide uptick, Boston rents declined year over year in May.

Millennials were once referred to as the “renter generation” because of their preference for apartment living in urban areas over purchasing a home in the suburbs like their Baby Boomer parents.

Two other Northeast cities close to Boston continue to hold their spots at the top of the rankings for May.

Housing markets across the country saw new listings growth in June, as the median list price hit yet another all-time high, and Boston was no exception. 

Strong growth of single-family construction spending drove the increase, while spending on multifamily construction was flat, the National Association of Home Builders said.

Buyer demand was also strong in the condo market in May, driving up the number of sales and pushing the median sale price to a new high.

Nationally, the median age of construction workers is 41, the same as a typical worker in the national labor force.

In Boston, the index jumped 2.5% month over month and 16.2% year over year. The monthly increase was slightly down from the 2.6% rise recorded in March. 

The Cape Cod housing market was frenzied and unpredictable last month as the market continues to outpace 2020’s record-breaking year. 

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 330,000, representing a supply of 5.1 months at the current sales rate, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.

The median existing-home price for all housing types rose to $350,300 in May, marking another new record.