The average price of an existing house...

The average price of an existing house sold in metropolitan San Diego area was a record $220,751 in December, a 21% increase over the average cost in December, 1988, according to a recent survey of transactions by members of the San Diego Board of Realtors.

The median price of resold homes was $174,000, or 11% higher than the median price a year previous. The median price is the level at which half of all houses were sold for more and the rest for less.

Member realtors sold 1,292 houses in December, or 16% more than the 1,111 units sold in the comparable month a year ago. For the 12 months ended in December, total resales were 20,223, or 5% more than the 19,243 houses sold in all of 1988.

The record average price set for December ended an eight-month period during which the average prices remained flat, staying within a range of between $217,000 and $209,000. The median price, however, is still less than the $175,000 median price of April, 1989.