A few months ago, Jon Moorman began searching for a two-bedroom condominium in Cambridge and Somerville, keen on dumping his pricey Allston rental apartment to become a first-time home buyer.

Moorman was ready to commit to a mortgage, but he wasn’t prepared for the competition — a flood of people like him vying for a limited number of homes in the $300,000 to $500,000 price range. The software engineer lost out on two properties before expanding his search to Jamaica Plain, where he secured the right to buy a condo by bidding 12 percent above the asking price.

“We started out offering our best and final offer,” said Moorman, 23, who plans to marry in the summer. “I didn’t want to let this one get away.”

It’s a common pattern this spring: There are too many potential buyers and too few sellers, resulting in bidding battles in many Boston-area neighborhoods. And that, in turn, is starting to drive up prices overall.

“The number of homes for sale in Massachusetts is at an eight-year low, despite an increasing number of prospective buyers and a housing market that — overall — is on the mend. Some owners either can’t afford to sell because they still owe more than their properties are worth, while others aren’t yet convinced it’s the right time. The result is the demand for homes far outstrips the meager supply, an equation that threatens to hold back growth in a business crucial to the state’s economy.”