Originally published by Housing Wire on September 18, 2020
The number of student loan borrowers who fell behind was triple that
In the second quarter of 2020 nearly 11 million households fell behind on their rent or mortgages – however nearly triple that number, approximately 30 million individuals, missed at least one student loan payment, according to a recent report from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America.
The data compiled from the Understanding America Study was the result of a panel survey tailored to study the impact of the pandemic specifically on mortgagors, renters and student loan borrowers.
According to the survey, evidence suggests that student debt is affecting housing-market behavior, in particular, how rising student debt burdens may have crowded out first-time-home purchases among Millennials.
Every additional $1,000 of student debt lowers the homeownership rate by approximately 2% – a sizeable effect, according to the report. This bolsters the findings of other studies, including a 2017 study by the National Association of Realtors where more than 75% of respondents with student loans said their educational debt impacted their decision to purchase a home.
