Central Texas and the cities of Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto have been experiencing a near-historic boom in home sales in the past few years.

But along with the sharp increase in demand for homes since the end of the recession has come a tough marketplace for buyers—particularly those looking to buy for the first time.

Dr. James Gaines, a research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, said buyers must be prepared in advance to shop in such a fast-moving housing market.

"You aren't going to have time in this market to think about it. You are going to have to act quickly houses are virtually selling the same day they are listed," Gaines said. "You need to have done your homework."

In addition, Gaines said there has also been an increase this year in the paperwork and red tape for buyers trying to secure home loans.

Yet buyers are swooping in to buy homes at an increasing clip throughout the region. According to the Williamson County Association of Realtors, the total number of home sales in Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto has increased steadily for four consecutive years. Median home prices in the area have also risen in that time period.

Meanwhile, the window of opportunity for buyers to choose the right home is getting smaller. In 2010, area homes often sat on the market for one to three months prior to being sold. As of May 2014, that timeframe had shrunk to less than a month and as few as five days in some areas, according to data from the Williamson County Association of Realtors.

Cindy Crawford, a Round Rock–based real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty, said one of her clients received an offer on a home after placing a "Coming soon" sign in the yard. The house had not yet been listed in the Multiple Listing Service, which is a comprehensive listing of homes that agents use.

Buyers should be prepared to pay full price and to bid against other buyers for a home, said Anne Cano, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Round Rock. She said they should also be prepared for a more stressful homebuying environment.

Pflugerville real estate agent Sherry Hindmarsh with RE/MAX said a great way to prepare to buy a home is to speak with a lender about income, debt and credit. Homebuyers need to know how much a bank will be willing to lend them, she said.

"I like to get my people fully qualified before the first time we go out," Hindmarsh said.

Gaines said he expects price increases and strong demand to continue for the next year to year and a half.