There’s a growing fear the housing market may be headed for a double dip, and the December data for Los Angeles County should do little to dispel that notion. Prices were down and sales figures were mixed.

The median price of a house in the county fell to $345,000, off about 1 percent from both November and a year earlier, according to HomeData of Hicksville, N.Y.

Meanwhile, 3,633 homes were sold, off 9.4 percent from a year earlier, though up 6.1 percent from November. (Percentages are adjusted to reflect the different number of selling days in the months as collected by HomeData.)

Annual homes sales fell 3.1 percent last year to 51,160 units, even though sales in the first half of the year were juiced by a federal tax credit that expired in April.

Tracey Seslen, an assistant professor at the USC Marshall School of Business, said the county’s residential real estate market will lag as long as unemployment is high.

“If we see manufacturing increasing, if we see retail improving – there’s this whole chain reaction of things that need to happen,” she said.

Seslen added that another critical factor in holding back a real estate rebound was a resistance by residents of affluent neighborhoods to drop their prices after paying top dollar during the boom. However, she believes the decision of some big banks to lift foreclosure moratoriums last month should add to the supply of affordable homes for sale – though that will soften prices.

The condominium market fared no better. The median price of a condo last month was $290,000 and 1,332 units were sold, figures on par with the last several months.