SALT LAKE CITY -- The real estate market along Utah's Wasatch Front is heating up, with multiple offers and quick sales driving up prices for houses.

Annual double-digit percentage gains are becoming common, a rate not seen in Utah since the mid-1990s, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

The agency found that home prices across Utah rose by an average 13.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005 over the year-earlier quarter.

That ranked Utah's price appreciation 18th among states and the District of Columbia.

Utah's population gains and employment growth are fueling a home-buying bonanza in some of Salt Lake City's most popular neighborhoods such as the Avenues, Federal Heights and Sugar House, according to a report by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors released Thursday.

In the first quarter of 2006, the median price of a house in Salt Lake County rose to $200,747, up 16.7 percent from $172,000 over the year-ago quarter, according to the report.

The number of days a house sat on the market in Salt Lake County before selling averaged 39 in this year's first quarter, down from 61 days a year ago, the report said.

Median home prices were up nearly 14 percent to $187,950 in Utah County. In Davis County, a 10.4 percent increase sent the median price to $174,945.

In Weber County, prices rose 8.4 percent to $136,900.

"The good news is that we're seeing healthy increases in sales and prices but not unrealistic increases that could lead to a housing 'bubble' like they did in other states," said Deborah Sjoblom of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.

Bruce and Katie Croxall, who are moving to Kansas, were surprised to receive a full-price offer on their home in South Jordan just two days after it went on the market in late March.

"Our agent said it would go fast -- but two daysfi" said Bruce Croxall. "It sure makes the whole process of moving a lot easier."

The hot real estate market can be tough on buyers.

Steve Camargo, a manager with Century 21 Elite in Murray, said buyers looking in the $150,000 to $200,000 price range are having the most trouble finding available homes. Even $250,000 homes are in short supply, he said.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D6.