The inventory of homes for sale has reached its lowest level since 1999, which is helping home prices to rise in many markets, said Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist.

The issue of inventory has become a major problem in the Puget Sound area, as KIRO’s real estate expert Tom Kelly discussed with Tom Tangney and Linda Thomas on Seattle’s Morning News.

NAR is projecting a seasonal rise of national inventory this spring, “but it may be insufficient to avoid more frequent incidences of multiple bidding and faster-than-normal price growth,” Yun said.

While the housing recovery is taking hold, more buyers and sellers are realizing they are in a better place this year than last year. Super low mortgage rates are keeping home prices affordable, despite recent price gains.

“Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic is holding steady,” Yun said. “In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly. We’ve transitioned into a seller’s market in much of the country.”