House prices in Kitchener and Waterloo surged in July as a shortage of listings continued to limit choice for home buyers.

The average sale price last month jumped 13.2 per cent to $387,102 compared to a year earlier.

“We’re still seeing buyers compete for a limited number of listings on the market and the skew in supply and demand is maintaining an upward pressure on home prices in the region,” Charlotte Zawada, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors, said Thursday in a news release.

Single-detached style homes sold for an average price of $452,799, up 14 per cent from last year. Apartment style condominiums sold for an average of $240,944, an increase of 14.2 per cent. Townhouses increased 10.7 per cent to $285,611 while semi-detached homes rose 16.4 per cent to $308,479.

The options for home buyers remained limited last month as the number of houses available for sale continued to decline.

There were 1,073 active listings at the end of July, 37.3 per cent fewer than a year earlier. That translates into 59.4 per cent fewer available listings, the association said.

House sales last month were flat compared to a year earlier. Agents with the association sold 588 homes, up just 0.9 per cent from 583 in July 2015. Still, that is the highest total for the month of July since 2008 when 594 homes changed hands.

“It’s been a strong summer to say the least for residential sales in the region,” said Zawada.

Last month’s sales included 364 single-detached homes (up 0.8 per cent compared to July 2015); 144 condominium type units (up 16.1 per cent); 48 semi-detached homes (up 9.1 per cent) and 26 townhouses (down 49. per cent).

Year-to-date, the association recorded 4,108 sales, up 15.2 per cent from the same period last year and 21.7 per cent above the five-year average for the first seven months of the year.