Consumers drowning in student loan debt say that it is delaying their purchase of homes—a concern most often faced by women and millennials, according to the sixth annual NeighborWorks America at Home report, a survey of about 1,000 U.S. adults.
Rising costs has prompted overall student loan debt to climb 130 percent since 2008. Student loan debt has surpassed $1.5 trillion and now makes up 42 percent of all consumer debt, according to the report. Of that, women carry about two-thirds of the total debt at nearly $900 billion.
Twenty-nine percent of women say they are “burdened” by student loan debt compared to 23 percent of men. Minority women have nearly double the amount of debt than white women. Further, 38 percent of women say they know someone who has delayed buying a home because of student loan debt, according to the survey.
Millennials are also facing heavy debt from student loans. Fifty-seven percent of millennials surveyed say they are burdened by student debt, and 59 percent say either they or someone they know has delayed purchasing a home because of that debt.
“It’s important for people to have tools and resources they need to be informed consumers from the moment they consider owning a home,” says Karen Hoskins, acting vice president of homeownership programs and lending at NeighborWorks America. “A housing counselor can guide them through what often seems a daunting, confusing process.”
The report points to financial counseling through nonprofit housing groups or down payment assistance programs to help those who are struggling with student loan debt but want to buy a home.
A separate study from 2017 by the National Association of REALTORS® found that 83 percent of non-homeowners cited student loan debt as the chief factor delaying them from buying a home. That delay to buy was about seven years, the report found. Further, 22 percent of consumers surveyed say they were delayed by at least two years in moving out of a family member’s home after college because of their student loans.
Source:
“2018 America at Home Survey,” NeighborWorks America (2018)
