Six in 10 millennials who don’t own a home say it’s because of student loan debt, according to a 2021 survey from the National Association of Realtors.
College costs skyrocketed in the last two decades. Average tuition between 2010-11 and 2020-21 school years rose nearly 31% at public universities and more than 41% at private universities, according to the Education Data Initiative. Students now pay an average of $35,551 a year.
This debt has worsened the racial homeownership gap, which has widened over decades of discriminatory lending practices, racist housing policies, and barriers to wealth for Black Americans and other people of color. These trends led higher numbers of students from marginalized communities to assume additional financial risk for a college degree.
For many, loans make college possible. More than 45 million people in 2020 had student loan debt, averaging $37,693 per person, per Education Data Initiative. These costs have made it difficult for many to afford a down payment on a home. The homeownership rate falls by nearly 2 percentage points for every additional $1,000 in student loan debt a borrower holds, according to the Federal Reserve.
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