It was Christmas in July for home brokers as house sales were the highest they’ve been in Southern California in nine years even with rising home prices, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Sales were up 17 percent of both new and pre-owned houses and condos, according to Irvine’s CoreLogic Inc. In Los Angeles County, sales were up 13.5 percent from last year with the average price around $492,000. However, the number of people paying in cash was down.