Homes sales rose for the fifth consecutive month in Miami in July. The median price held steady, the third month that the median price didn’t drop from the previous month’s, according to MDA DataQuick. A total 7,942 new and resale houses and condos sold in July, up 2.8% from June and up 24.4% from July 2008. While the results mark the fifth straight month of year-over-year increases, it’s the second-lowest number of sales in the region for the month of July — last year’s marked the worst July total — since 1997, when MDA DataQuick began compiling data on the Miami area. Sales of existing homes and condos drove the improvement in sales figures. MDA DataQuick said while existing properties have seen year-over-year increases for eight months, new home sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for 38 consecutive months. The median price paid for all homes was $160,000; steady from June, but down 36% from $250,000 in July 2008. Median prices have increased or stayed the same every month since May. Federal Housing Administration- (FHA) insured loans accounted for 46% of all July sales in the Miami region. Write to Austin Kilgore.