San Diego DataQuick says 18,149 homes were sold in Los Angeles and five other counties in September, a drop of 7.7 percent from August but up .3 percent from the same time last year.

DataQuick says it's normal for home sales to drop between August and September as buyers try to close deals before school starts. This time, the sales were a bit higher than expected.

DataQuick President John Walsh says lower home prices and ultra-low mortgage rates are helping prop up the market. Nearly one out of three existing homes resold last month was a foreclosure.

The median home price of $280,000 was up fractionally from August but down more than 5 percent from September 2010.