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.

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

Houston rents jumped 4.3% 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.

Housing markets across the country saw new listings growth in June, as the median list price hit yet another all-time high, and Houston 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.

“May’s strong increase in transactions — following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability — was indeed a surprise. The housing market is attracting buyers due to the decline in mortgage rates, which fell below 3%, and from an uptick in listings.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun

The 10-city composite index rose 1.9% on a monthly basis and 14.4% on a yearly basis, while the 20-city composite rose 2.1% monthly and 14.9% annually.    

New listings also lost their momentum during the week, lowering hopes that the limited supply of homes on the market would be replenished soon.

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.

Market competition has eased up recently, but seven in 10 buyers still face bidding wars, according to a new report from Redfin.

On a year-over-year basis, new-home mortgage applications were down 5.9% in May, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, citing its Builder Application Survey.

Inventory levels rebounded last month, finally showing signs of recovery following a year of historical declines.

The typical increase in home sales as summer approaches failed to materialize nationwide last month, with average sales dropping 0.2% from April to May, but month-over-month sales in Houston bucked the trend, climbing 1.3%, according to the RE/MAX May National Housing Report.

HAR’s weekly activity snapshot shows that for the second consecutive week, new listings continued to rise, helping alleviate some of the pressure on dwindling inventory.