Third drop in home sales

Worries about the economy continued to weigh down the San Fernando Valley housing market in July, with sales hitting a record low for the third consecutive month, a trade group said Friday. Gregory J, Wilcox in the Daily News,

A total of 522 houses closed escrow, 67 fewer than in July 2010 and the lowest total for a July since 1984, when the Southland Regional Association of Realtors began keeping records. With 562 transactions recorded in June, sales remained on pace to set a yearly record low.

The median price in the report's coverage area - between Calabasas and Toluca Lake - tumbled to $360,500 from $399,000 a year earlier and $369,000 in June.