Sales of existing homes in California dropped 29 percent in February and the median home price fell 26.2 percent compared to a year ago, the California Association of Realtors said Monday.

There were 343,220 closed sales of detached single-family homes in February with a median price of $409,240. The declining sales prices reflected a 4.8 percent dip compared to January’s revised figure of $429,790.

Locally, Los Angeles Country saw a 20 percent fall in February’s median home price to $467,200, while sales in the county decreased 42 percent year over year, according to the association. The county median price and sales drop is consistent with data published by the Business Journal earlier this month.

The association also said that its index of unsold homes rose in February to 14.3 months, up from 8.2 months for the same period in 2007. The index measures the amount of time it would take to clear all unsold homes from the market.

The report, which indicates that the state’s housing market is still slowing down, came on the same day that the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales nationally rose 2.9 percent in February compared to the prior month. The news propelled home builders’ stocks but analysts are skeptical that it means a turnaround in the national housing market.