Hopeful home buyers in the Seattle area are up against the toughest purchasing prospects in the country as the market again posted leading price gains while diminished inventory has made the competition fierce.

Multiple reports Tuesday morning showcase just what buyers are up against as they look to purchase something — anything — that comes up for sale in Seattle. The Seattle Times cited the monthly Case-Shiller home price index, which showed a 12.3-percent year-over-year increase for single family home prices in the metro area in March. It’s the fastest growth in more than three years and easily outdistances increases in Portland (9.2 percent), Dallas (8.6 percent), Denver (8.4 percent) and Boston (7.7 percent).

Seattle also more than doubles the national average for price gains, which are at 5.8 percent.

Seattle-based real estate company Redfin released its Demand Index on Tuesday, and it shows what buyers are certainly learning the hard way as prime selling season approaches — there just aren’t enough houses available for interested parties.

Seattle is the most inventory-constrained metro, as measured by months of supply, but it also has the third smallest amount of inventory, following Oakland and San Francisco, Redfin said. Seattle posted the largest year-over-year decrease in inventory, down 35 percent from last April. In the same period, the number of Redfin customers making offers climbed by 36.9 percent, an indication that the market is more competitive for buyers this year than it was last year.

“There’s no indication that this market is going to see a drastic increase in supply or a drop in demand, so waiting isn’t an option for a serious buyer,” said Redfin Seattle agent Kyle Moss in the company’s blog post. “People intent on purchasing this season should be discerning and focus on the one or two criteria that are most important to them, like commute time and/or schools. From there, carve out a list of homes that meet your qualifications and work alongside an agent who has experience winning offers in competitive situations to build and execute a competitive strategy that fits your budget.”

That inventory crunch, in a city attracting thousands of new well-paid tech workers to companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, Expedia and others, is leading to the highest rate of bidding wars among the cities that Redfin tracks in other hot markers. In Seattle in April, 88.7 percent of homes received multiple offers, outpacing Los Angeles (79.3 percent), Oakland (78.6 percent), San Diego (77.5 percent) and Washington, D.C. (73.9 percent) among others.

The Times said extra offers often drive prices higher, and the typical single-family house in the city last month sold for a record $722,000.