CONDO SALES INCREASE MORE THAN 45 PERCENT.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

Condominium sales soared a whopping 45.5 percent in the San Fernando Valley during October, a performance strong enough to lift the overall market nearly 10 percent on an annual basis, a trade group said on Monday.

Analysts attributed the big jump to a stabilization of the market as it returns to a more normal mix of condominium and single-family home sales. In the last year and a half, the volume of single-family homes sales has been dominating.

But last month, consumers snapped up 374 condominiums, 117 more than were sold in October 1998, said the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. At the same time, escrow closed on 1,054 single-family homes last month, up 1.5 percent from the 1,038 that sold in the year-ago period.

Prices also continued trending upward.

The median price of a single-family home gained $13,000 on an annual basis to $205,000, an increase of nearly 7 percent. The median lost nearly 9 percent, or $20,000, from September.

The condominium price rose $1,000 to $116,000 in the last year but fell $4,000 from the September median. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

``We're seeing that happening all over the place and it's (attributed) to condos regaining their normal place in the market,'' said John Karevoll, an analyst at Acxiom/Dataquick, a market research firm. ``A year ago they were underrepresented because of the low interest rates and relative low prices.''

Even though single-family sales made only a slight improvement from October 1998, last month's performance is still considered strong. Last year was the most active of the decade and this year is shaping up as the second best.

Last month's condominium sales total was the highest for an October since 1989 and the number of single-family sales was the most since 1988.

Sales typically slow down in the year's final quarter since many families don't want to move during the school year, but a tight supply of product may also be stimulating interest in condominiums.

Lots of sales remain in the pipeline, too.

Pending escrows, a leading indicator of future activity, totaled 1,502 at the end of October, up 6.8 percent from a year ago.

Jim Link, the association's executive vice president, said that while the sales pace has moderated somewhat from the summer, quality properties are still attracting multiple offers.

``The final year of the century may not surpass 1998 in total home sales, but as we predicted it will go down as one of the best years of the decade for buyers and sellers,'' he said.

And the elements seem to be in place for a continued rise in prices.

``The rate at which prices are going up is sustainable. It's pretty much in balance with the growth in the economy and could easily continue for another year at the current pace,'' analyst Karevoll said.

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Chart: Strong volume