Local realtors stayed busy through July, a typically slow month for home sales, according to new figures released Tuesday by the Ottawa Real Estate Board.

Members of the OREB sold 1,842 homes this past month, a jump compared to 1,605 units last year and well above July’s five-year average of 1,579. Condo properties helped fuel the uptick in activity with 460 units changing hands, an increase of 23 per cent year-over-year. Residential-class properties, which include detached, semi-detached and multi-unit homes, accounted for 1,382 sales in July, up 12.3 per cent from last year.

OREB president Dwight Delahunt said last month saw July’s highest level of sales activity in 15 years. He added that while July tends to be a slower month following a busy spring, there was no such slowdown this year.

Delahunt said that this past July saw a surge in new listings to boost the Ottawa’s housing inventory. He noted, however, that the capital currently has just a one-month supply, and would need a three-month supply to sufficiently meet market demand.

Despite the hot July, Ottawa’s average residential housing prices cooled to $487,308 after passing the $500,000 mark for the first time in June. The average sale price for condos fell just shy of $300,000.

The $350,000-$499,999 price range was the most active in the residential market, accounting for 42 per cent, while more than half of condos sold were in the $225,000-$349,999 price point.