Denver: one of the hottest markets in the us?

Metro Denver's housing market has roared back to life with an early spring rush characterized by multiple offers, low inventory and - in some cases - homes going under contract within 24 hours of being listed, reports Colorado's 9News.

"It's a frenzy out there," said Ty Dokken, the new board president of Denver-based Metro Brokers Inc."It's one of the hottest sellers' markets I've seen in the last 10 years."

A quick market makes for extremely motivated buyers, he said, adding that they have to say yes quickly or risk losing the deal. After the housing bubble burst in 2007, the real estate market flat-lined for a period, then finally started picking up steam a year ago. But the sudden rush has nonetheless caught many buyers and sellers off-guard.

"Two years ago, buyers were dictating to sellers," said Michelle Ackerman, Redfin's managing broker for the Denver metro area. "Today, it's the sellers who are dictating terms. We're seeing multiple bid offerings all over the metro area."

The most recent S&P/Case-Shiller home-prices index showed that prices in the Denver metro area rose 9.2 percent in January compared with January 2012. Nationally, the year-over-year gain was 8.1 percent - the largest increase since the summer of 2006.