Colorado Springs-area home prices soared to record highs again last month as demand for housing remained strong, says the latest report from the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors.

The median price — or midpoint — of homes sold in June climbed to $324,750, a nearly 14 percent rise year over year and the fourth consecutive month in which prices set a record, the report showed.

Average prices climbed to $361,499 in June, up 10.8 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for a fourth straight month. Average prices, however, are considered less reliable by real estate professionals and economists because they can be skewed by a few very high or low sales.

The Realtors Association report also showed:

• Home sales dipped 0.3 percent in June, the fourth straight monthly decline. Although sales have fallen of late, they totaled 7,704 for the first half of 2018 — a 0.9 percent increase over the same period last year, when annual sales set a record high.

• Properties were on the market for an average of just 21 days before selling. A year ago, homes averaged 26 days on the market in June.

• The inventory of homes for sale in June totaled 2,162. It was the first time since September that the monthly supply surpassed 2,000, although June’s figure remains historically low. Summer inventories typically have exceeded 3,000 and 4,000 a month in past years.

The demand for homes has been fueled by a stronger economy and historically low mortgage rates, which remain affordable even as they’ve ticked up to about 4.5 percent for long-term fixed-rate loans.

If demand remains strong, why have sales slipped for the past few months?

Real estate experts say the tight supply of homes for sale is to blame. If more homes were on the market, sales would be even higher.

“A lot of people are just getting tired of looking,” said Hank Poburka, an agent with The Platinum Group Realtors in Colorado Springs and a former Realtors Association board chairman. “They’ve had to settle for something, maybe a rental. If they wanted to buy a home, they just couldn’t find one they liked.”

The pool of buyers also has grown, Poburka said. Increasing numbers of millennials are seeking to buy homes — ratcheting up demand even higher. He said 40 percent of buyers in the Springs and nationwide are millennials, based on national real estate figures.

“There’s a little frustration on their part because they want to live in a place that’s easily walkable,” Poburka said. “That’s like downtown. But there’s not much available. So they’re getting a little frustrated. They’re still looking, but they’re looking outside of that area that they particularly wanted.”

Increasing inventory won’t be easy though, Poburka said.

Many homeowners who might want to sell wind up holding onto their homes when they realize they might be unable to find another one to buy, he said.

Builders, meanwhile, are trying to add homes, which would help ease pressure on the resale side of the market.

“The builders are building as quick as they can, and you’re seeing prices go up,” Poburka said. “But they can’t even meet demand. That is the only way that I believe that this can level out…Builders have to build more.”