House prices rose in May in King County for the second straight month, according to statistics release Monday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

The median price of single-family homes sold last month was $362,000, up 0.6 percent from April and a more impressive 4.9 percent from May 2011.

The year-over-year increase was the largest since prices peaked in 2007.

Volume also was up: The number of closed sales in May topped 2,000 for the first time since August 2007, and was up 24 percent from the same month last year.

Inventory, however, continued its downward trend, with 37 percent fewer houses listed for sale last month than in May 2011.

Brokers said there’s a link between limited supply and rising prices. “The six-month trend of low listing inventory continues to cause strong buyer competition for homes close to job centers,” Joe Spencer, area director for Keller Williams’ Northwest region, said in a statement.

That, coupled with low interest rates, is helping prices stabilize or appreciate, he said.

In Snohomish County, the median house price in May, $259,933, was up more than 7 percent from May 2011. Closed sales were up nearly 25 percent, while inventory was down a whopping 61 percent.

King County condo prices, however, fell in May. The median price was $210,000, down more than 2 percent from the same month in 2011.

But the number of closed sales was up nearly 25 percent.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com