The price surge has been driven by an abnormally low supply of homes for sale in the Phoenix market — and Orr believes the problem may persist, or even worsen, this spring.

"We don’t see a strong flow of new listings coming onto the market," Orr said in the report. "For example, short-sale listings are down about 70 percent compared to this same time last year. As the market improves, it seems many people may have decided to hang onto their homes in an effort to let values keep going up. I also anticipate another possible drop in supply this spring."