"The spring real estate market is extremely active, with multiple offers on many properties, especially those that are aggressively priced," said Brian Kessler of Intero Real Estate Services in Los Gatos.

In terms of numbers, Kessler said, the inventory has increased since the end of January when there were only 104 single-family homes for sale in Los Gatos. At the end of March, the inventory had increased to 133 homes, and the same ratio is holding true for available listings in Saratoga.

"It does appear, however, that there are enough buyers in the marketplace to absorb the increased inventory of homes for sale in our area. Most open houses are very busy, and the number of hits on our video tour website for buyers is increasing daily," Kessler said.

Realtors Stefan Walker and William Rippe of Alain Pinel Realtors believe the inventory is still incredibly low, although sales are on the rise. Walker explained the reason everyone is seeing so many new "for sale" signs out is that there has been a great deal of turnover lately.

"Multiple offers are becoming common again. Low inventory, low interest rates and boosted confidence in the overall economy is spurring demand. Most buyers who were out there on the fence are now in a position where they feel more secure in their jobs and more willing to take on debt. That and the fear of missing the bottom of the market and low rates has pushed many to take the leap," Walker said.

As a result, inventory has never rebounded from the holiday lows, said Walker, and he added, "Very high demand with low inventory to satisfy it is definitely putting upward pressure on values. The spring market should be hot, hot, hot!"

It's a very strong market, according to broker/owner Dennis Byron of Silver Byron Estates in Los Gatos. The typical story Realtors are seeing over and over again is the story of multiple offers in certain price ranges, with properties going for more than the asking price.

Byron cited the experience of one of his agents with a town-home listing in Mountain View: the property went on the market for $689,000, had eight offers and sold for more than $750,000. This kind of action is affecting appraisers, who are finding it more and more difficult to justify the appraisals.

"It seems that each property that is sold is the benchmark for the next one coming on. The number of single-family listings on the market is a little over 2,600. This reflects a limited supply of properties but not a short supply. There are just a lot of buyers out there right now," Byron said. "Interest rates are staying at a near-record low. The advent of spring fever and maybe a little fear of what is going to happen after the election may be the combination that is fueling the market."

Toby Vanderbeek of Intero Real Estate Services thinks this might be one of the strongest markets in a few years. "I have seen many properties with multiple offers but not going much over the asking price. Even with all this sun, some open houses seem to be pretty slow. Others are very busy, if the location and price are reasonable. We may not see relief this year, even with inventory building through summer. However, the buyers are still out there," Vanderbeek said.

Realtor John Leslie of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos confirmed the fact that there are more listings coming on the market and that the buyers are out in force.

"The number of buyers ready to buy is gigantic. The multiple offers will continue until there are far more listings available. I really think it will be mid-May before we will see the turn," Leslie said.

According to Leslie, not every price range is hurting for listings. Homes priced at less than $1 million in Los Gatos and Saratoga show a very low inventory, but homes listed from $1.5 to $2.5 million are very competitive due to so many listings. The trade-up range of $1 million to $1.5 million is still hot because there is such a small selection available.

Leslie thinks there is a good chance that sellers will miss out on all the action. "Crazy as it seems, I would say that three-quarters of the sellers who will list their homes this year will miss the hot market. Everyone hears about it, but doesn't act quickly enough, believing that the market will stay hot," he said.

There are also some surprises happening in the market, said Leslie, with multiple offers producing some creative ways to compete and capture the sellers' attention. Realtors are seeing offers with no contingencies. Some buyers are accepting the property "as is" and with no financing conditions on property appraising.

"Listing agents who are new to the game are finding it hard to price their listings. It's becoming common to see listings that are so far off the market price that the sellers are looking at 20 to 30 offers after they list their homes. Homes in Cupertino and Sunnyvale have been setting records for overbids. The result is a lot of frustrated buyers and the prices are still climbing, setting the price bar even higher," Leslie said.

Typically, spring is the season for most properties to come on the market, said Realtor Judy Jarvis Ellis with Alain Pinel Realtors in Palo Alto. "This is the strongest market we've had since the year 2000."