KITCHENER — Homes sales were as hot as the weather in Kitchener and Waterloo last month, as real estate agents handled a record number of transactions.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors recorded 598 sales, the highest total ever for the month of August.

That is 26.4 per cent higher than the total of 473 in August 2015 and is 37.6 per cent higher than the five-year average for the month.

Sales in the first eight months of the year totalled 4,703, a record for the period and 23.5 per cent above the five-year average.

“We saw strong residential activity this summer season and with record setting year-to-date sales it’s clear that buyers remain confident about the value of homes in Kitchener-Waterloo,” Charlotte Zawada, the association’s president, said Wednesday in a news release.

In the midst of the hot market, the choice for home buyers continues to be limited.

There were 863 residential listings at the end of August, down 46.6 per cent from 1,616 a year earlier.

“It wasn’t just temperatures heating up in August,” said Zawada. “We’re still experiencing tight market conditions in terms of available homes for sale and this continues to push home prices in the region upward.”

The average sale price last month was $402,000, up 15.2 per cent from $348,879 in August 2015.

Single-detached homes sold for an average of $487,050, up 20.9 per cent; apartment style condominiums sold for an average of $233,302, up 7.9 per cent; townhouses sold for an average of $298,148, up 10.2 per cent; semi-detached homes sold for an average of $299,353, up 5.5 per cent.

Last month’s sales included 353 single-detached homes (up 19.7 per cent compared to a year earlier) and 151 condominium type units (up 36 per cent); 40 semi-detached homes (up 14.3 per cent) and 49 freehold townhouses (up 69.0 per cent).