REAL ESTATE MARKET SINKS LOWER SALES OF HOMES DOWN 31 PERCENT, PRICES PREDICTED TO WEAKEN.

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX Staff Writer

The real estate market decline deepened in September, with home sales tumbling more than 31 percent across California and in Los Angeles County with prices continuing to weaken, a trade group said Wednesday.

Last month the median price of a home fell under the year-ago level in nine markets and sales fell by large amounts in all areas, said the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors.

``The bottom line is we were expecting some fairly big declines,'' said Robert Kenneling, the association's deputy chief economist.

However, in a separate report covering more localized figures generated by the association and DataQuick Information Systems, 59.6 percent, or 227 out of 381 California cities and communities, showed an increase in their respective median home prices from a year ago.

In most major markets, prices made modest gains with the largest being a 5.3 percent increase in the High Desert, which includes the Antelope and Victor valleys. Sales in that area fell 28.8 percent.

Statewide sales of previously owned single-family homes declined 31.7 percent and the median price, the point at which half the units cost more and half less, increased 1.8 percent.

While the statewide sales drop is large, last September's annualized count of 650,780 units is the fifth biggest on record.

Last month's activity works out to 444,780 sales, the number that would occur if the market matched September's pace all year.

Sales are down 24 percent through the year's first nine months versus the same period a year ago.

The association's September report showed that:

In Los Angeles County sales fell an annual 31.2 percent and the median price increased 4.4 percent to $585,730.

At the end of September there was a seven-month supply of inventory, up from 3.2 months a year ago. That buildup is helping temper prices.

Thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 6.4 percent last month versus 5.77 percent a year ago.

A sale took a median 54 days in September compared with 30 days for the same period a year ago.

In Ventura County sales fell 38.8 percent and the median price increased 0.6 percent to $686,730.

Sales declines ranged from 52.3 percent in Monterey County to 23.4 percent in San Luis Obispo County.

Analyst Nema Natasha said that the market has been consistent over the past few months -- sales well under their year-ago level and prices either declining in some areas or appreciation at its smallest levels in years.

``Sales volume is going to go down. The price declines are not as dramatic but clearly (they) have moderated. We would expect the prices to remain flat for the remainder of the year,'' he said.

[e-mail]

[phone]