JULY HOT - FOR REALTORS; AREA HOME SALES JUMP FROM JUNE WITH PRICES RISING.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Sales of existing single-family homes soared during July, when 313 houses were sold across the Santa Clarita Valley - a 61 percent jump from a year ago, a Board of Realtors report announced Monday.

That figure was a significant jump even compared to June. According the data from the Southland Regional Association of Realtors, there were 44 more homes sold in July than during the previous month.

Real estate agents credit the boom in Santa Clarita Valley home sales to many of the same factors fueling similar housing runs all over Southern California. ``The economy is good and the interest rates are down,'' said Monica Barkley, a real estate agent and broker for Re/Max of Valencia.

But this valley also has some unique selling points that are drawing buyers out here, she added.

``The area has a low crime rate and we've got good schools,'' said Barkley, a real estate agent for 25 years in the Santa Clarita Valley. ``We're not that far away from the areas where people work. The (Valencia) Industrial Center has a lot of major companies, so we have a lot of people moving to the area'' who have jobs in town, she said.

The report also found that 401 home purchases were in escrow at the end of July, a nearly 25 percent rise from June's total and 44 percent higher than in July 1997. The median resale price of single-family homes that closed escrow during July in the Santa Clarita Valley was $205,000 - a 9 percent increase compared to a year ago.

The Southland Regional Association of Realtors serves the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. The report didn't document sales of new homes, but Barkley said that, in general, builders are selling homes six months before construction is complete and families can move in.

Many of the purchases are existing homeowners trading their starter homes for a so-called move-up home. ``A lot of buyers are moving up locally because in a climate in which the housing prices are rising, they need to move up before the prices get out of reach,'' Barkley said. ``With a lot of first-time buyers, their payments are less than their rent.''

An additional factor is that banks are qualifying prospective buyers to receive home loans based on their credit history for the past two years, not the seven-year check that has long been the standard, she said.

In the current frenzy, prospective home buyers generally are more prepared in their search, but others have been naive or unrealistic. ``Even with multiple offers . . . there still are a few buyers who won't concede to the fact that it's a seller's market,'' she said.

Newer homes are faring better in the resale market, Barkley said, because buyers like the modern touches. ``The floor plans are better, all the amenities are better, the decorating (uses) the newer colors and styles,'' she said.

``All the seminars I've been going to tell me we're going to be in this upward market for the next two or three years,'' Barkley said.