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SOLEDAD: BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, A GALLUP POLL FOUND THAT 70% OF AMERICANS BELIEVED THE AMERICAN DREAM WAS ACHIEVABLE. NEARLY 1/3 OF THE COUNTRY FELT THE DREAM WAS OUT OF REACH. THEN, COVID-19 CHANGED ALMOST EVERYTHING. THE HOUSING MARKET IS TIGHTER THAN EVER. SUPPLY IS LOW. PRICES ARE HIGH. AND THAT MEANS AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS LESS AVAILABLE, AND FIRST-TIME BUYERS ARE FACING UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES. BAILEY JEREMIE: MY NAME IS BAILEY JEREMIE. I AM A MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST, AND I LIVE IN HARLEM. I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT BUYING A HOME, IT FEELS LIKE FOREVER, HONESTLY. REBECCA SENN: MY NAME IS REBECCA SENN, AND I'VE BEEN THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE NEW YORK MORTGAGE COALITION FOR FIVE YEARS. PEOPLE SEE OWNING A HOME AS AN AVENUE TO BUILD WEALTH AS THEIR LARGEST ASSET. AND IT'S STILL THE AMERICAN DREAM TODAY. O'NEIL EDWARDS: MY NAME IS O'NEIL EDWARDS FROM BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AND I'M 27 YEARS OLD. WE'VE MOVED PROBABLY LIKE, MAYBE 10 TIMES IN THE PAST 10 YEARS, SEVEN TO 10 TIMES. MY PARENTS DEFINITELY DID THE BEST THAT THEY COULD, BUT DUE TO EXTERNAL FACTORS, THEY WASN'T ABLE TO HAVE A JOB THAT'S ANY BETTER THAN LIKE A MINIMUM WAGE JOB. SO, LIKE, THE DREAM OF HOME OWNERSHIP IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US. BUT IT WAS LIKE, IT SEEMED VERY IMPOSSIBLE FOR LIKE A PERIOD OF TIME UP UNTIL RECENTLY. REBECCA SENN: I'D SAY WE'RE IN ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE HOMEOWNERSHIP AND HOUSING MARKETS I'VE EVER SEEN. WE SERVE OVER 15,000 PEOPLE A YEAR. WE WORK WITH A HOST OF AFFORDABLE MORTGAGE LENDERS WHO OFFER SOMETIMES 3% DOWN. AND EVEN COMING UP WITH THAT CAN BE TOUGH ON TOP OF CLOSING COSTS, WHICH COULD BE $10,000-PLUS. IT'S A COMPLICATED PROCESS. THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO IT. BAILEY JEREMIE: IT'S VERY STRESSFUL, ESPECIALLY BEING A MIDDLE-CLASS FAMIL I LEARNED THAT THERE WAS AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTION TWO BLOCKS AWAY FROM OUR APARTMENT. SO, IT FELT VERY UNBELIEVABLE. THEY SAY YOU HAVE TO APPLY NOW. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS MUCH MONEY. YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS DOWN PAYMENT. AND WE CHECKED EVERY SINGLE BOX. WE WERE VERY EXCITED. WE TOLD OUR DAUGHTER. WE WERE LIKE, "WE'RE JUST GOING TO MOVE TWO BLOCKS AWAY." YOU KNOW, "MAKE SURE YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT IT AND YOU'RE PLANNING FOR YOUR NEW BEDROOM." AND SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, I THINK IN DECEMBER, WE ACTUALLY GOT A REJECTION. THE PROCESS OF APPLYING TO THE APARTMENT STARTED TO FEEL LIKE A NUMBERS GAME. WE WERE JUST ANOTHER NUMBER. I'VE COME TO ACCEPT THE CONDO IS NOT THE PLACE WE CAN LIVE IN, BUT I'M STILL HOPEFUL HARLEM IS AN OPTION FOR US. O'NEIL EDWARDS: I STARTED ATTENDING A CLASS BY THE HARLEM CONGREGATION. THAT CLASS REALLY TAUGHT ME ALL THE STEPS THAT I NEEDED TO TAKE. I JUST CONTINUED TO LIVE BENEATH MY MEANS AND SAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE FROM MY INCOME UNTIL I GOT TO A POINT WHERE I HAD ENOUGH FOR A DOWN PAYMENT FOR A PROPERTY. I LIVE ON THE THIRD FLOOR WITH MY GIRLFRIEND. AND ON THE SECOND FLOOR, WE'RE GOING TO GET THAT RENTED OUT TO A TENANT. AND ON THE FIRST FLOOR, I DECIDED TO GIVE THE FLOOR TO MY PARENTS. IT JUST GIVES ME A GREAT SENSE OF PRIDE. LIKE, THIS IS WHERE I STRUGGLE. THIS IS WHERE I MOVE FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER. AND THE FACT THAT I PURCHASED THE PROPERTY AT 26, THAT'S A HUGE DEAL. IT JUST GIVES ME A SENSE OF, LIKE, THIS IS WHERE I BELONG BECAUSE I OWN REAL ESTATE HERE. AND I CAN GENUINELY SAY THIS IS MY COMMUNITY. TH