Chasing the Dream, Scarlett Johansson, Art is Money

Good morning. I'm Jane Pauli. And this is a special edition of the American I'm Jane Pauli, and this is a special edition of Sunday Morning, Our Money Issue. We've been hearing a lot lately about rising gas prices, not to mention the cost of food, health care, and well, just about everything.

There's no question Americans are feeling squeezed. Affordability has become the number one concern of families across the country. But as JoLynn Kent will tell us, nothing threatens the pursuit of the American dream more than the affordability crisis in housing.

It's summer home buying season, but for millions of Americans, the dream of home ownership feels out of reach. Why is owning a home so important to you? For me, it's a sense of accomplishment.

It just feels like we're stuck. a look at the American dream ahead on Sunday morning. Few Hollywood actors can match the star power of Scarlett Johansson.

But as Tracy Smith will share, while she brings in billions at the box office, that's just one item on her business resume. Hey, you.

She's one of Hollywood's favorite faces, but Scarlett Johansson had a problem with her skin. You know, it can really affect your self-confidence. Did you feel that?

Totally, of course. The outset is... And now she's the face and founder of a company with a solution.

It can be here, like up here. Scarlett Johansson, later on Sunday morning. David Pogue this morning answers a question we've all been wondering about.

Are our phones spying on us? Seth Stone tells us why electric cars from China are making major inroads in Europe. Susan Spencer looks into a new service

that helps consumers take on the nation's health insurance companies. Luke Burbank explains the enduring appeal of bingo. Plus Robert Costa on how the AI economy is impacting

towns across America. Faith Saley on four decades of success for the American Girl Doll. And more.

It's our money issue. And we'll be back after this. ["The American Girl Doll"] For generations, owning a home has

been central to achieving the American dream. But as Jolene Kent tells us, for many, that dream may be slipping away. I did everything I was supposed to do.

I was in the military, I went to college, I worked, and we can't buy a home. What did I do wrong? Jenny Rangel feels stuck.

The mom of five in Chandler, Arizona, tells us she can't catch a break. I'm a nurse, and I love it. I love it, it's great.

And what does your husband do? He's a manufacturing tech at Intel, so we have pretty good jobs, decent jobs. Do you feel like those jobs are enough to cover your living expenses?

Not even close. We pay about three grand in rent. We have all the utilities. We have car payments, car insurance, mouths to feed, and gas.

Maybe we have enough left over for groceries and toiletries and household stuff. Why are we struggling? Carol and her husband, Casey, are both in their 40s and have never owned a home. They're part of a growing number of millennials who see themselves as forever renters because

they can't afford to buy. This home I'm renting goes for $600,000. We can't afford a $600,000 home, you know, with our income maybe $300,000. And what would that get you around here?

It's not going to be a lot. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, home prices across the country have soared more than 60 percent, today's median price, $430,000. We are also looking at high mortgage rates, which means it's expensive to borrow money

to buy a home. And that's if you can find a home in your price range. Danielle Hale is chief economist at realtor.com. One of the reasons is that we haven't had enough building over the last decade.

And when you have a shortage of supply and a steady amount of demand, the way the market solves that is by pushing prices higher. How short are we? The estimates vary.

At realtor.com, we estimate that we're 4 million homes short. Home prices have gone up 300% since 1990. How have incomes kept up? Incomes have gone up as well, but by roughly half that amount.

If the prices of homes have tripled and incomes have not kept pace, does this just automatically take a large population out of the running? Well, I don't think it totally shuts people out because homeownership is such a central part of the American dream.

A Realtor.com survey found that 75% of Americans believe in that dream, and it can be done. But it might require pulling up roots and heading to the heartland. One visit to Pika, give us just one day. Yes, Topeka, Kansas, as in, there's no place like home.

This is a city where the American dream is still possible. Had you gone here 10 years ago... Bob Ross is one of the leaders behind Choose Topeka, a program offering people a relocation incentive of up to $15,000 to move to town.

Who is the typical participant who applies and gets into this program? They're coming from over 37 states and they recognize that the cost of living that they can get here is so much more meaningful to them. Choose Topeka is funded by a half-cent county sales tax. And when you visit Topeka, you might decide to stay.

More than 200 families have moved to the capital city of Kansas since it launched in 2020. And Ross says 90 percent of them have stayed. This feels like what I've always envisioned my family home to be. Two years ago, Allison and Jacob Reynolds were living in Northern California with their newborn daughter.

On average where we lived, a two bed, one bath house would be $500,000. Like, that's like kind of a fixer-upper. So just, yeah, it would have been unfeasible for us financially without support from someone else. Turns out, Allison, a high school teacher, is a Topeka native.

How did this movement change America? The couple took advantage of the Choose Topeka Boomerang incentive, which offers past residents $5,000 to move home. The grant incentive that we applied for and received

completely covered our moving expenses. Would you have made the move without the grant? I think we might have, but it would have definitely left a hole in our pocket.

Yeah, we would have needed some help. Yeah, so that down payment on the house kind of emptied us out.