Spring sprang early in the housing market this year. The buying season’s annual start came about a month earlier than usual. Homes in March are expected to sell 22 days faster than last month, or in 69 days, according to realtor.com®’s latest data release.

 “Calendars might say this is the first week of spring, but we’re already right in the thick of the most frenzied spring home-buying season on record,” says Javier Vivas, manager of economic research at realtor.com®.

Would-be buyers are facing a dearth of choices this spring. For-sale housing inventories plunged to record lows, according to realtor.com®. About 492,000 new listings are expected to enter the market in March, but the added inventory is expected to fall short of buyer demand.

“While the story keeps revolving around low inventory, prices are now also taking center stage, reaching all-time highs and keeping waves of buyers at bay,” Vivas says.

The median list price is $260,000, which is 8 percent higher than it was one year ago.

Which metros are generating the most buzz? Realtor.com®’s economic data team identified the largest metro areas where homes are selling the fastest and garnering the most views at realtor.com®. California markets continue to dominate. Some new metros were added to this month’s list: Santa Cruz, Calif.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, Mich.