REGION

REGION
Area ranks third in U.S.for affordable housing
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown-Warren area was the third most affordable housing market in the country in the first quarter of this year, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The group ranks areas by the percentage of homes that were affordable to a family earning the area's median income.
Topping the rankings was the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area in Iowa and Illinois, where 94 percent of homes were affordable. The median income was $56,200, and the median sale price of all homes was $78,000. Median numbers are those in the middle of a sample.
In the Mahoning Valley, 92 percent of homes were affordable. The median income was $49,600, and the median sale price was $80,000.
San Diego was ranked last, with just 10 percent of homes being affordable. The median income was $63,400, and the median sale price was $412,000.
NATION
Gas prices hold steady
CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Gasoline prices remained nearly flat in the last two weeks, an industry analyst said Sunday. The weighted national average price for all three grades of gasoline dipped about a penny between June 25 and Friday -- to $1.96 per gallon, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey. Self-serve regular averaged $1.93 a gallon.
Vindicator staff and wire reports