Housing Sales Rebound After Dip : Real estate: The July upturn is offset by a record-high number of unsold dwellings.

The local housing market resumed its recent upturn in July, as sales of existing single-family houses and condominiums climbed 12% from the previous month and rose 19% from a year earlier, the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors said Monday.

The higher sales marked a modest rebound from June, when property sales fell 12% from the previous month after posting monthly gains from March through May.

But the realty board cautioned that the July increase in sales was overshadowed by the huge number of unsold houses in the Valley. A record-high 14,309 properties were listed for sale last month--including 11,426 single-family houses--which would take nearly a year to sell at the present sales pace, the board said.

Local real estate agents “all report the same thing--sales are very flat” relative to the large number of unsold houses, board President Steve Owen said in a statement. He termed it “an unprecedented buyer’s market” in the region.

As he’s done in recent months, Owen asserted that the market reflects sellers who are pricing their houses too high, given the sluggish conditions. “Properties must be priced at today’s values, not what an owner hopes or thinks he can get,” he said.

In July, the average sales price of a single-family house edged up 1% from June, to $301,800 from $299,300, and rose 3% from $291,800 a year earlier.

However, last month’s median price fell 3% from June, to $232,000 from $240,000, although it was up 2% from $228,000 a year earlier. The median means half the houses sold for more than that price, and half sold for less.

The number of single-family houses sold last month totaled 992, up from 879 in June and 790 in July, 1990, the board said.

Condominium sales last month totaled 304, up 9% from 280 in June and a 2% increase from the 299 sold a year earlier. The average resale price of a condominium was $156,100 in July, down 2% from a record high $160,000 in June and a 1% dip from $157,200 a year earlier.

The Valley realty board, the largest in California, reports housing sales by its members in the area from Agoura to North Hollywood.

Its statistics do not include sales of most new residences.

July Valley House Sales North West: Avg. Price: $273,700 Sales: 47 North Central: Avg. Price: $290,900 Sales: 165 North East: Avg. Price: $181,600 Sales: 170 South West: Avg. Price: $352,200 Sales: 243 South Central: Avg. Price: $353,100 Sales: 117 South East: Avg. Price: $323,100 Sales: 250