The relationship between student-loan debt and homeownership needs to break up.
Sixty-one percent of millennials said they've delayed buying a house because of their student-loan debt, according to a new survey by personal finance company SoFi. The survey polled more than 1,000 Americans ages 22 to 35.
But that's not the only major life milestone they're delaying because of student-loan debt. Of the survey respondents, 39% said they've delayed moving to another city, and 35% said they've delayed starting a family.
Millennials are facing the Great American Affordability Crisis — they're financially behind from the aftermath of the Great Recession and dealing with a higher cost of living than previous generations were; student-loan debt just weighs these problems down even more. The national total student debt is over $1.5 trillion, and the average student-loan debt per graduating student in 2018 who took out loans is $29,800, according to Student Loan Hero.
Student-loan debt and high housing prices make buying a home difficult for many millennials
A 2019 Federal Reserve study found that student-loan debt is linked to more than 20% of the decline in young-adult homeownership between 2005 to 2014, Business Insider's Alex Nicoll previously reported.
The study tracked both an increase in the amount borrowed per student and the numbers of borrowers. The study found there was a 1% to 2% decrease in homeownership rate among borrowers for every $1,000 they owed on average.
Nicoll also cited a report by Zillow, which studied the effect that student loans have on the ability of an average buyer to afford a home. That study found that student loans cut down the number of homes the average buyer could afford by 10%. It doesn't help that housing costs are skyrocketing. Those buying their first home today will pay 39% more than first-time homebuyers did nearly 40 years ago.
The collision of all these factors has created an environment in which millennials are renting longer and buying later.
