Spring is in the ... housing market? Home prices are surging early this year. Here's why.

• After a brief lull, the growth in homes prices is surging again.
• Experts blame low housing stock and a rush to beat rising interest rates.
• Buyers in December had 20% fewer homes to chose from.

Is the spring homebuying season coming early this year?

After registering month-to-month gains of over 1% starting in September 2020 and reaching a high of 2% in July 2021, the increase in U.S. home prices appeared to slow down in the fall. But a rapid home value appreciation has reignited just ahead of the spring homebuying season, jumping from 1.2% in November to 1.4% in December, according to a new Zillow report.

Experts are blaming the return of big price gains on historically low levels of housing stock and a rush by potential homebuyers to beat a rise in mortgage rates.

Buyers in December had 19.5% fewer homes to choose from than a year earlier when inventory was already at a record low. And compared with December 2019, they found 40.5% fewer homes available for sale.

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