The Kitchener-Waterloo real estate market just saw its least active January in six years.

A total of 219 homes were sold in January 2015, according to the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors.

Not only was that number down slightly from the 223 home sold in the area in January 2014, it marked the fifth straight decline.

The last time 219 or fewer properties changed hands in January came in 2009, when 210 homes were sold.

Still, KWAR president Mark Wolle sees reason for optimism – saying in a press release that interest rate cuts should help keep the area’s housing market strong as sales pick up in the spring.

While total home sales were down, the average price of a home that managed to sell rose slightly, from $309,420 in 2014 to $316,960 this year.

In the townships of Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich, as well as any other sales handled by Kitchener or Waterloo-based agents outside those cities, 71 properties changed hands in January – down from 99 in the first month of 2014.