Homes: Hot markets get hotter

[Homes: Hot markets]

Homes: Hot markets get hotter

Home prices rallied in the first quarter; record number of areas had growth of more than 10%.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. residential real estate markets lost no steam in the first quarter of 2005, according to statistics released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

The NAR's quarterly report covers 136 metro areas (see how they all rank). A record 66 of these have experienced double-digit jumps in home prices over the past year.

The previous record was 62 in the last quarter of 2004. Only six areas showed a fall in prices and those declines were fairly modest.

The median price of a single-family American home hit $188,800 at the end of the first quarter, a rise of 9.7 percent compared with a year ago.

The NAR, the nation's biggest real estate agent group, pointed to tight inventories as a major factor in the continued strong growth.

"We simply don't have enough homes on the market to meet demand," said David Lereah, the NAR's chief economist, in a statement. "We think the supply situation may improve next year when interest rates are expected to be higher – that should result in a lessening of demand and cooler price appreciation."

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