Article snippet: A tight supply of houses for sale, along with rising prices and worries about higher mortgage rates, is making buying a home a challenge in some areas this season. Because of a lack of inventory of homes in some markets, there is often a rush of offers when properties do become available, said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research at Realtor.com, a listing website. “Buyers,” he said, “should expect heavy competition.” The median sale price for previously owned homes in April nationally, according to the was $244,800, up 6 percent from a year earlier. “Demand is easily outstripping supply in most of the country, and it’s stymieing many prospective buyers from finding a home to purchase,” Lawrence Yun, an economist for the Realtors association, said in a statement about the housing market. An improved economy has stimulated demand for housing, but the supply of homes for sale has lagged, making it harder for shoppers to find affordable properties, said Daren Blomquist, a senior vice president with Attom Data Solutions, which tracks property trends. One factor in the tight supply, Mr. Blomquist said, is that people are holding onto their homes longer than they once did. Investors who bought homes during the recession are earning rental income and are not in a rush to sell, while some owners still cannot sell because they remain underwater on their mortgages — meaning they owe more than the homes are worth. The average home seller these days has owned the house ... Link to the full article to read more