A record accumulation of snow did nothing to put a chill in Ottawa’s red-hot housing market in January.

Local realtors sold 820 residential properties last month, an increase of nearly 16 per cent over the 708 dwellings that changed hands in January 2018, the Ottawa Real Estate Board said Tuesday.

The latest numbers suggest a local market that had its best year in nearly a decade in 2018 is showing no signs of slowing down. The five-year average for January sales is 683.

“January is typically one of the slowest months of the year for local real estate,” new OREB president Dwight Delahunt said in a statement. “Yet in spite of the record cold and snowfall, unit sales are up almost 16 per cent. This is the highest number of January transactions we have experienced in decades.”

Properties in both the residential and condo segments showed dramatic rises in volume last month. A total of 611 residential properties changed hands, up 14 per cent from a year ago, while condo sales jumped almost 21 per cent to 209.

The average price of a residential home in January was $432,829, up 1.5 per cent year-over-year. Condo prices rose 7.7 per cent to $283,990.

“New builds are helping prices remain stable, with homebuilders adding enough supply to keep the market equitable,” Delahunt said. “We don’t have the supply constraints of Toronto and Vancouver because we have serviceable lots within a 20-minute drive.”

Homes in the $300,000-to-$449,999 price range continued to be the most sought-after in January, accounting for 42.5 per cent of all residential sales. The $175,000-to-$274,999 bracket remained the most popular for condos, making up 54.1 per cent of all transactions