The official records may not quite have confirmed it as yet, but every Bay State resident knows in their heart: This has been the worst winter ever. The question is, will it also put a damper on the spring market?

A look back at the records reveals no clear answer. Historic data on single-family home sales provided by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, show that previous harsh winters seem to have had little lasting impact on spring sales.

Typically, the busiest months for home sales are June, July and August, as homes that went on the market in the spring proceed to closing, with an average of just over 30 percent of all home sales closing in those month. Both the winter of 1995-1996, as of this writing the snowiest on record in Boston, and the winter of 1994-95, third in the rankings behind 2014-2015, hold to that pattern, with 31.6 percent of 1995’s sales and 32.6 percent of 1996’s closing in those peak months. Nor were sales earlier in the year – when buyers were still taking off their snow boots to attend open houses – affected: Closings for March and April in 1995 and 1996 were also in line with historic averages.

But neither of those years had quite the concentrated blast of winter weather we’ve received this year, when almost all our record-breaking snow fell in less than a month, causing a bevy of ice dams, roof damage and mini-mountains at the end of every driveway. So far, brokers and agents say, the Boston metro market’s already tight inventory is definitely being squeezed further.

“This February was the slowest February I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Anthony Lamacchia, broker/owner of McGeough Lamacchia Real Estate in Waltham. “There were fewer homes on the market on Feb. 28 than there were on Feb. 1 – the first time that’s happened since 2002.”

Matthew Murphy, owner of Boston Virtual Imaging, which creates listing photos and other marketing materials for agents, said he’s certainly noticed a dip in demand in what’s normally his busiest time.

“There were more new listings in January 2015 compared with January 2014. However, the storm on Jan. 26 appeared to be a pivot point where new listings slowed. We looked at these numbers in the middle of February and new listings seemed to be down by about 30 percent compared with the same date range in 2014,” said Murphy

A Flood Of Buyers

The question is whether the damper put on listings in February will linger. There are signs that the impact may be limited. While inventory may have shrunk, buyer demand is still surging. In parts of the state not quite as hard hit this winter, some regional markets have kept chugging right along throughout the frost blast.

While things have been slow for some of their offices, “we are actually very busy in some areas,” said Al Becker, vice president of marketing and operations at Norwell-based Jack Conway. “One area where it hasn’t slowed at all is on the North Shore,” said Becker, saying agents up there are attracting 30 to 40 people to open houses, despite the weather.

With that kind of demand awaiting them, when the thaw comes it may well bring a flood of sellers along with it, agents predict.

“There’s no question that some sellers are delaying putting their houses on the market due to the weather, and some that have been on the market were taken off until repairs are done,” said Mark Lippolt, senior vice president of operations for Chestnut Hill-based Hammond Real Estate. But “our prediction at Hammond is that inventory will be at least comparable to 2014, but it will come on in a much more condensed way with a big flurry of activity when the thaw occurs.”

Some agents are already seeing the signs.

“Things are getting back to normal now – and it’s been pretty quick. As soon as that last storm went though, we began to get calls again, people wanting to put their house on the market,” said Lamacchia.

Email: csullivan@thewarrengroup.com