Student Corner: Will Student Loan Debt Impact Future Homeownership?

Student loan debt in the U.S. is now the second highest consumer debt category, following mortgage debt. Americans owe over $1.48 trillion in student loan debt spread out across 44 million borrowers, and according to Student Loan Hero, the average student loan debt for 2017 graduates was $39,400. In today’s culture, having a college degree is seen as a pre-requisite to a middle-class life style, including becoming a homeowner. However, as college costs continue to rise, and more young adults graduate from college with loans, some are beginning to wonder what the impact of student loan debt will be on the future of homeownership. This blog post will provide a brief overview of the student loan debt issue and how it could potentially impact homeownership in the coming years. Much of the content for this post is pulled from a 2016 article in the Journal of Affordable Housing titled “Millennials, Affordable Housing, and the Future of Homeownership by A. Mechele Dickerson. Is Student Loan Debt A Crisis? Student loan debt is being referred to as a crisis in our nation; however, many don’t understand the nature of this crisis and why students are borrowing more money for school. Baby Boomers in particular (the generation born between 1946 and 1964) were substantially less likely to take out student loans to attend college, in part because college tuition was lower relative to household income, and also because many were able to work part-time jobs while in school with wages that could help off-set costs. Today’s students however face a much different economic landscape [...]