Boom times are back for residential real estate as phalanxes of buyers chase tight inventories and run up selling prices, brokers say.

If home resales were measured by the number of buyers, April and May would be spectacular. But a lack of sellers presages just modest gains that tell a misleading tale.

Brokers are stunned by this turn of events. The market went from nowhere to heated in just a year. If there were bigger booms before, no one can recall a speedier one. 

Pent-up demand and low inventories are moving prices higher – 5% to 15% seems to be the range, and much higher in markets that were depressed and undervalued. EconoPlay on April existing home sales (Apr 2013):