A line graph plotting housing affordability for Denver, Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and the United States, from first-quarter 1998 through fourth-quarter 2001. The left axis is the index, which ranges from 100 to 190. A value of 100 means that the typical household has just enough income to qualify for an 80 percent mortgage on a median-priced home. The higher the index, the more affordable the housing. Houston and Fort Worth start at the highest levels--184 and 175, respectively--and after some dips and peaks, end up at 173 and 170. Dallas and Denver both start out at 150, but Dallas increases sharply from mid-year 1998 to mid-year 1999, after which it dips and peaks less drastically and levels off at 160. Denver, on the other hand, after a small peak in third-quarter 1998, drops steadily to 119. Austin starts out the lowest, at 131, plateaus at 143 in 1999, then drops to its starting point at the end of 2000, but rises to 136 by end-2001. The United States tracks Austin's increases and decreases almost perfectly, starting at 139 and ending at 135.