Combined House and Condo Sales Fall 14% : Real estate: Prices dip 3% from September, 1991. Condominium activity is hit hard as first-time buyers opt for single-family residences.

Led by a sharp decline in condominium sales, the local housing market remained in the doldrums in September as combined sales of single-family houses and condos fell 14%, while average prices dipped 3%, from a year ago, the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors reported Monday.

Sales of detached houses in the Valley totaled 691 in September, the same number as in August. But that figure was a drop of 9% from September, 1991, when 761 houses closed escrow.

Meanwhile, condominium sales fell 6% in September, to 151 from 161 in August. On a year-by-year basis, the latest monthly sales figure represented a decline of 31% from the 219 condominiums sold in September, 1991.

“Condominium sales are down primarily because . . . first-time buyers who couldn’t afford homes now have an option,” said Jim Link, executive vice president of the realty board. With housing prices declining and mortgage rates at their lowest in 20 years, he said, “there’s a window of opportunity to get into a single-family home rather than a condominium.”

More than half of the houses sold last month were purchased by first-time buyers, the board said.

The average price of a single-family house sold last month was $281,200, up 4% from $270,900 in August but down 5% from $295,600 a year ago. The median price of a house sold in the Valley last month was $212,500, down 1% from $215,000 in August and off 7% from $229,000 a year ago. (The median price means half of the houses sold for more than $212,500 and half sold for less.)

Meanwhile, the average price of a condominium that closed escrow last month was $152,400--up 2% from $149,200 from August, but it was down 6% from $162,100 a year ago. The median price of a condominium sold in September was $148,000, a rise of 7% from August, and it was down 4% from $154,000 a year ago.

According to the realty board, the slight increase in housing prices last month from August suggested there might be a pickup in the trade-up market. That was particularly evident in the southeast region of the Valley--which includes Studio City and Sherman Oaks--where 147 houses were sold at an average price of $312,400.

Nonetheless, with overall sales remaining sluggish and the typically slow winter market approaching, the board said more sellers were taking their houses off the market. In September, 1,404 listings expired, and many of those apparently are not being relisted, the board said. Typically, properties are listed with a selling agent for 90 to 120 days.

As a result, inventory of single-family houses and condominiums dropped 2% from August, to 13,389 listings in September. Overall, the most popular price range for single-family houses sold in the Valley was between $250,000 and $300,000. And in a continuing sign that sellers are seeking more for their homes than buyers are willing to pay, the board reported that the average final sale price of a house was about 14% or $40,000 less than the original list price, the board said.

The Valley realty board, the largest in California, reports housing sales by its 8,000 members in the area from Agoura to North Hollywood. Its figures do not include sales of most new residences.

September Valley House Sales North West: Avg. Price: $247,400 Sales: 29 North Central: Avg. Price: $270,700 Sales: 101 North East: Avg. Price: $164,300 Sales: 116 South West: Avg. Price: $328,400 Sales: 213 South Central: Avg. Price: $292,500 Sales: 85 South East: Avg. Price: $312,400 Sales: 147