“The Fed has put every home on sale because of its actions,” Humphries said in a telephone interview. “We’re not saying you should ignore the sale sign and not pay a cheaper price. We want people to be aware of the fact that this is unusual and not bake these expectations of high appreciation into their long-term calculus.”

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.42 percent last week, and reached a record low of 3.31 percent in November, according to Freddie Mac. That compares with an average rate of 6.24 percent from 2001 to 2006.

It’s too early to say another bubble is emerging. So far, the biggest gains are limited to hard-hit markets such as Phoenix and Las Vegas and thriving job centers such as San Francisco, while prices are falling in cities such as Chicago and Indianapolis, according to CoreLogic. Nationally, existing- home sales are about a third off a 2005 peak and home construction is down by 66 percent. Also, in contrast to the easy lending of the boom years, mortgage standards are strict.

Spotty Recovery

In areas such as Long Island, New York, and Omaha, Nebraska, price gains are within moderate growth levels of 3 percent to 5 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors. In other cities, demand remains stagnant and the market is far from overheated.

Homebuyers in Erie, Pennsylvania, a port on Lake Erie in the northwest part of the state, are still finding plenty to choose from, said Debra Fries, a local agent with Coldwell Banker Select. The median home price in the area fell 5 percent to $105,000 in the first quarter from a year earlier, according the Realtor group.

“We don’t have any bubbles,” Fries said. “We’re steady as a stream.”

U.S. home prices fell 35 percent from their July 2006 peak to the bottom in March 2012, and are still 29 percent off their high, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index measuring 20 U.S. cities. Nationally, prices dropped so much during the crash that they remain about 7 percent undervalued, based on comparisons with historical prices, incomes and rents, Trulia Inc. said this week, introducing a feature on its website called “Bubble Watch.”

Eight Markets

Still, the recent price surge has made eight U.S. markets - - including Orange County, California; Houston; and Portland, Oregon -- overvalued, the San Francisco-based real estate data company said.