Low inventory may take bloom off spring home sales

Weak supply of homes for sale is boosting prices and could put a damper on the spring housing season.

There were nearly 9 percent fewer homes for sale in January of this year than there were a year ago, according to Realtor.com.

"January's inventory data suggest a continuation of the tightening trend we identified last month in the December data, and with a shortage of inventory typically comes increased home prices," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com. "Half of the 200 markets Realtor.com tracks experienced year-over-year price increases of at least 6 percent in January."




click here for the rest of the story fromDiana Olick at CNBC