WATERLOO REGION - Local realtors believe bad weather is to blame for slow house sales in February.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors reported 343 residential sales last month, a drop of 8.3 per cent from a year ago.

It's the slowest February for sales in more than a decade.

"The series of winter storms in February not only kept buyers indoors and off the roads, but also away from open houses and viewings," president Brian Santos said in a news release. "This was the lowest amount of sales we've seen in February in a long time, but it really isn't surprising given the wild weather we experienced last month."

Prices still crept higher, though, with the average price for all residential properties rising three per cent year-over-year to $490,668, and the median price climbing nearly seven per cent to $465,000.

The average price for detached homes rose about four per cent to $597,965, with the median price inching up two per cent to $533,500.

"Despite the chill we saw in the number of sales last month, the price gains reflect that demand continues to outpace supply," Santos said.

Prices jumped for condos and semis - the average price for apartment-style condos soared 20.5 per cent to $319,536, while semis were up 14.4 per cent to $448,123. Townhomes saw a 2.6 per cent increase to an average of $395,331.

Inventory remains low, with 785 listings on the association's Multiple Listing System at the end of February - nine per cent more than last year, but far below the 10-year average of 1,296.

New listings were up slightly with 562 properties coming on the market last month, an increase of about one per cent over last year.

It took an average of 25 days to sell a home, four days longer than in February 2018.

bdavis@therecord.com

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Twitter: @DavisRecord