July Residential Sales Take a Dive : Housing: Combined resales of single-family homes and condos are down 34% from a year ago, and 10% lower than previous month.

The Valley’s prolonged housing slump extended into July, with combined resales of single-family houses and condominiums tumbling 34% from a year earlier, the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors said Monday.

The sale of 850 existing properties in July was down from 1,296 sold in July, 1991, and also was off 10% from the previous month when 933 houses and condos were sold, the board reported.

And as sales slowed, the inventory of unsold Valley properties again swelled to an unprecedented level. The number of houses and condos listed for sale totaled a record 14,976 in July, the board said.

Nonetheless, the realty group remained optimistic that sales will improve.

“Even with all the economic uncertainties, we fully expect to see smart buyers stay in the market because there are just too many opportunities to pass up,” board president Lorrie Griffey said in a statement.

“No one knows how long the incredibly low interest rates will be available,” she said. “And no one knows how long the current buyers’ market will continue.”

So far, though, the drop in mortgage lending rates and average housing prices in the Valley has not been able to spark a rebound in the region’s real estate market. Brokers say that’s partly because many would-be buyers are worried about the economy and their job security.

Rates on standard 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.06% last week, the lowest in two decades, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported. Meanwhile, the average resale price for single-family houses in the Valley in July was $272,700, down 4% from the previous month and 10% below the $301,800 average in July, 1991, the realty board said.

Last month’s median resale price for a single-family dwelling was $216,000, down 7% from $232,000 a year ago. The median means half the houses sold for more than $216,000, and half sold for less.

The board said resales of single-family houses in July totaled 670, down 32% from 992 a year ago and off 8% from 731 sold the previous month. Condominium resales totaled 180 last month, down 41% from 304 a year ago and an 11% decline from the 202 sold in June.

The average resale price for a condo last month was $152,700, down 5% from June and 2% lower than the $156,100 average recorded a year earlier, the board said.

Most of the activity in single-family houses last month occurred in the southwest corner of the Valley, including Woodland Hills and Canoga Park, the board said. That area accounted for nearly 22% of the entire single-family resales in July.

The Valley realty board, the largest such group in California, reports housing sales by its 8,000 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: $342,200 Sales: 3 North Central: Avg. Price: $253,400 Sales: 86 North East: Avg. Price: $171,700 Sales: 110 South West: Avg. Price: $316,400 Sales: 244 South Central: Avg. Price: $309,500 Sales: 82 South East: Avg. Price: $252,700 Sales: 125