The U.S. housing market's storyline for the last several yearshas been one of steady demand and limited supply, pushing pricesever higher. Now, a new chapter has opened up for the industry andits customers: soaring costs for building materials.

Reports on Tuesday underscored both resilient purchase activityand accelerating home prices. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shillerindex showed property values in 20 major U.S. cities climbed 6.8%in February, the biggest year-over-year gain since June 2014.Government data revealed a faster-than-projected rate of new-homesales in March and huge upward revisions to the prior twomonths.

Inventories of previously owned homes are plumbing the lowestlevels in at least 19 years, a key reason why resilient demand byitself has fueled price appreciation that's extending to thenew-homes market. Now, with the costs of lumber and other buildingmaterials soaring together, buyers are unlikely to see any relieffor some time.