Affordability dips: The National Association of Realtors said its housing affordability index fell 1.2 points in the second quarter, to 121.2 from 122.4 in the first quarter. The index measures the ability of a typical family to buy a home. It means that a family earning $37,000 a year has about 121 percent of the income needed to qualify for a conventional mortgage on a typical home costing $104,000. The index remains about 10 points above its level of a year ago. . . . Privately owned housing units were completed at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.165 million in June, down 3.2 percent from May, the Commerce Department said. Completions had risen an unrevised 12.8 percent in May, to an adjusted 1.204 million rate. June completions were up 5.5 percent from a year before.
