Student Loan Debt: Ongoing Hurdle to Homeownership

The U.S. currently has a student debt load of over $1.4 trillion, which accounts for 10 percent of all outstanding debt and 35 percent of non-housing debt. The magnitude of the debt continues to grow in size and share of the overall debt in the economy. While this amount of debt has risen, the homeownership rate has fallen, and fallen more steeply among younger generations. To evaluate those trends, SALT® and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) teamed up to conduct a survey of st