Housing inventory in California drops dramatically in January

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U.S. home prices jumped 12.1 percent in April from a year ago, the most since March 2006. More buyers and a limited supply of available homes have lifted prices in most cities across the country, a sign of a broad-based housing recovery. (Photo: A sold sign on a home in the Oakbridge housing development in Danville, California). — A sold sign is posted on a fence in front of a newly constructed home in the Oakbridge housing development on April 25, 2011in Danville, California. New home sales rose 11.1% in the month of March according to the Commerce Department.

It's only been a few years since the housing market imploded both here in southern California and across the country. The common refrain was that it would take another few years, possibly a decade or more for housing to bounce back.

It's only been a few years since the housing market imploded both here in southern California and across the country. The common refrain was that it would take another few years, possibly a decade or more for housing to bounce back.

In the meantime, it was a buyer's market: low prices, low interest rates, desperate sellers.

But talk with just about anyone wandering around open houses each Sunday and you'll hear a different refrain: What happened?!

Prices here jumped more than 23 percent last month, according to DataQuick, and foreclosure filings dropped a stunning 77 percent. So all the sudden finding a house to buy isn't so easy.

Chris Thornberg, an economist and founding partner of Beacon Economics, is here to explain.