Large student debt limits young Americans’ home buying

WASHINGTON » Younger Americans are struggling to keep up with steadily rising student debt loads, a burden that is limiting their ability to buy homes.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said last week that the percentage of student loans 90 days or more overdue rose to 11.3 percent in the final three months of last year, up from 11.1 percent in the previous quarter. That’s the highest in a year. Total student borrowing now stands at $1.16 trillion, the most on record and 7.1 percent higher than 12 months earlier.

Previous research by the New York Fed has found that younger Americans with student loans are less likely to take out mortgages than those without student debt. That’s a reversal from the pre-recession pattern. Before the 2008-09 downturn, 30-year-olds with student debt were more likely to have mortgages because of their higher levels of education and higher potential incomes. Now they are slightly less likely to have mortgages than 30-year-olds without student debt.

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Associated Press