Can it be possible? In spite of the housing crisis and high rates of foreclosure, in some areas real estate agents are complaining that they don’t have enough homes to sell.

There is currently an eight-month supply of homes on the market — meaning that at the current sales pace, it would take eight months to sell all of the houses.

That’s still high compared to the six-month supply expected in a normal market, but it’s much better than it has been.

In California, almost all cities have a short supply of single-family homes. That’s especially true in the lower-priced categories, according to Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.

The supply of homes that sell for less than $300,000 is at 3.2 months statewide, down from an already low 3.3 month supply 12 months ago.

Inventory of moderately priced homes, those between $300,000 and $500,000, fell to 4.2 months in March, down from 4.5 months in March 2009.

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As reported in the San Diego Union Tribune on Tuesday, May 18th, San Diego County home prices slipped from March to April but remained within the same zone they have occupied since last summer. These statistics were reported on Monday by MDA DataQuick.

DataQuick said theApril median price was $325,250, down $4750, or 1.4 per cent, from March, but up 12.2 per cent from a year ago. The overall median has remained within the $320,000 – $330,000 band since July.

“I think that the main thing it reflects is a widening stability of the market over the last nine months” a DataQuick analyst said.

However, analysts caution against hoping that prices will start rising rapidly. The quantity of foreclosures and other distressed properties will not dissipate anytime soon. But the median’s stability masks a change in marketmix that has seen low-cost starter home sales taper off and sales of higher-priced homes pickup steam, but not enough to pull the median price up much.

The San Diego Tribune reported on Monday, May 10th that San Diego County led the nation in rising home values in March. Prices rose 3.7% from March, 2009 to $364,800.  Kelly Cunningham, an economist at National University’s Institute for Policy Research in San Diego, said the reports show that the local market has stabilized: “After a long and crippling downturn of housing values and prices, at long last, it does seem like we’ve hit that bottom and are starting to see some increases.”

Actually, he is saying what we as real estate agents have been noticing for several months. The San Diego market is very active with multiple offers on properties up to $700,000.

MLS statistics on 13 coastal zip codes show a good possibility for this year being one of the best real estate years ever. So far in 2010, 300 properties are contingent (accepted waiting for bank approval), and 800 properties are pending (in escrow). Taken together, that is a 300% increase in pending properties from this time last year. And so far this year, 1200 coastal properties have closed escrow, up 35-40% from last year at this time.

Cunninham continues: “Prices are unlikely to drop further and now might be a very good time to consider buying.”

According to a survey conducted by Prudential Real Estate from April 15-30, 2010, the expiration of the Federal First-Time Buyers Tax Credit program on April 30th is unlikely to put off buyers looking for homes.

While buyers remain unsure about the direction of the housing market, the survey reveals that they are optimistic about real estate values with 46% of consumers expecting real estate prices in their area to increase over the next year. Over the next five years, 79% expect real estate prices to increase, with 20% expecting prices to increase substantially.

Survey respondents identified concerns about rising mortgage interest rates and uneployment as the most important factors affecting their decision to purchase a home, along with more stringent lending criteria and fewer mortgage-backed securitieies purchased by the Federal Reserve. The expiration of the tax credits place lowest on their list of concerns.

“The tax credits clearly helped stimulate the market when consumer confidence was low and housing inventory was high,” said Earl Lee, President of Prudential Real Estate.  “ While the tax credit expiration is a concern for many, the bigger issues now are the availability and cost of financing as well as if they will have a job.”

In spite of the significant downturn in the real estate market, the survey underscores that the dream of home ownership and the perception that owning a home is a good investment remain intact.