Cities Where Prices Are Highest and Lowest

FOR HOMEOWNERS, real estate prices lately have not been cause for raising the roof. Median prices for existing homes rose a little less than inflation in 1988, up roughly 4% from the year before. But the picture varies from city to city.

According to a nationwide survey of home sales by the National Association of Realtors, a three bedroom, two bath house in the 48 contiguous states ranged from a low of $54,600 in Louisville, Kentucky, to a high of $211,400 in Orange County, California. The highest priced area of all was Honolulu, where the median price for houses was $215,100. In other upscale areas, the same kind of house cost $206,500 in the San Francisco Bay area, $147,800 in San Diego and $132,400 in Washington, D.C.

The nationwide median price in 1988 for previously occupied homes was $89,300. Cities whose housing costs hovered around the median included Minneapolis St. Paul ($85,200), Baltimore ($88,700) and Seattle Tacoma ($94,000). Some of the most reasonable housing could be found in cities such as Portland, Oregon ($64,400), Knoxville, Tennessee ($67,000) and Orlando, Florida ($79,100).