May Home Sales Rise 38% From a Year Ago : Real estate: A total of 1,127 single-family houses closed escrow last month, spurred by low interest rates and foreclosure bargains. But prices fell 11%.

Sales of single-family houses in the San Fernando Valley continued their yearlong improvement in May, surging 38% from the same month a year earlier. But the average resale price of a house last month, while up slightly from a seven-year low in April, was 11% less than in May of 1993.

The San Fernando Valley Assn. of Realtors said 1,127 single-family houses closed escrow last month, up from 818 sales a year earlier. Last month’s sales were again spurred by low interest rates and plenty of foreclosure bargains, and marked the highest monthly sales in five years.

The May sales were also 14% higher than the 987 single-family houses that changed hands in April, reflecting the traditional pickup in housing activity as summer approaches. Sales last month were exceptionally strong in Reseda and Tarzana.

Nonetheless, the average price of a single-family house sold in the Valley last month was $232,300, down 11% from $259,700 a year earlier. The median sales price sank further, down 14% to $177,000 in May, from $205,000 a year earlier. The median price is the point at which half of the houses sold for more than $177,000 and half sold for less than that.

Jim Link, executive vice president of the Valley realty group, said the price drop was caused partly by homeowners selling their quake-damaged properties “as is” at a discount. The high number of foreclosures is another reason.

Link said he was heartened by the fact that housing prices rebounded in May from April, when single-family house prices had fallen to a seven-year low of $219,000.

But the Northridge earthquake continued to take a significant toll on the Valley’s beleaguered condominium market, which has shown no signs of resurgence. Sales of condos last year were cannibalized by single-family houses, and the earthquake made things worse because many condos were toppled by the Jan. 17 quake.

Condo sales in May totaled just 134, down 16% from 159 sales in May, 1993. The average resale price of a condo sold was $124,100--down 11% from $139,600 a year earlier. And the median resale price sank 18% last month, to $117,000 from $143,000 in May, 1993.

In the condo market, Link said, “It may take several more months before all quake problems are solved and buyers can proceed with confidence.”

Partly because of the earthquake, active listings of houses and condos have been unusually low this year, and it dropped again in May. The inventory of houses and condos for sale totaled 8,091 in May, down 36% from a year earlier. Inventory usually climbs in the summer, but last month’s supply actually thinned 2% from April.

In an ordinary market, the combination of declining inventory and rising sales usually pushes up prices. But brokers say the large supply of foreclosures, quake-damaged properties and low buyer confidence could keep prices at the bottom for months to come.

The Valley realty group, the largest in California, has 7,800 members from North Hollywood to Calabasas. Its figures generally do not include sales of new homes.

May Valley Home Sales

North Central - Average Price: $212,200. Sales: 147 North West - Average Price: $197,000. Sales: 53 North East - Average Price: $141,100. Sales: 158 South Central - Average Price: $248,500. Sales: 217 South West - Average Price: $278,400. Sales: 329 South East - Average Price: $234,700. Sales: 223