San Luis Obispo Realtors

San Luis Obispo County home sales and median home price declined last month. And while January is typically a slower time for real estate activity, some in the industry say it’s another sign that a more balanced housing market has returned.

A total of 247 new and existing homes and condominiums were sold in January, down from 292 sold in January 2006. That represents a 15.4 percent decline from the previous year, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based research firm.

The county’s median home price — the point where half of homes sold for more and half for less — declined last month to $537,500, a 1.7 percent decrease from January 2006, when it was $547,000.

Andrew LePage, a DataQuick spokesman, said the county has averaged about 390 home sales in January in the past 10 years.

As for the all-home median price, the county started seeing declines in October 2006 when the median price dipped 0.9 percent from a year earlier.

“January was the fourth consecutive month going negative year over year,’’ he said. “We’re seeing a market that has really flattened out and seen some mild declines in parts of the county.”

Sean Fitzpatrick, co-owner of CornerStone Real Estate in San Luis Obispo, said the January declines are not surprising.

“It’s a combination of values coming down, more of the lower-end homes being put on the market and the general decline in the market overall,’’ said Fitzpatrick, noting that sellers are being more realistic about their prices and buyers are starting to return. “We’ve seen more demand recently than at the end of last year. We could have hit bottom and be on our way back up.”

On the North Coast, Richard Watkins, an agent with Dale Kaiser Real Estate in Cayucos, said there’s not a lot of softness in the market.

“Unless we start seeing some substantial increases in inventory, we won’t see a tremendous amount of price reduction,” he said. “If prime resort properties begin to sell, we may see a return of appreciation by the third quarter.”

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