Student loan debt curbs housing market by $83 billion, study says

The L.A. Times reports:

There’s been lots of debate lately in housing circles about the impact of student debt on home ownership.


That’s how many home sales will not happen this year because of high levels of student loan debt, according to a report from John Burns Consulting, an Irvine-based firm that advises home builders. That’s equal to about 8% of all home sales, and enough to dent the housing industry by $83 billion a year.

The report estimates that the number of households under age 40 that owe $250 or more each month in student loans has nearly tripled since 2005, to 5.9 million. And it projects that every $250 in monthly student loan payments decreases home borrowing and purchasing power by $44,000. Figure a typical sale price of $200,000, throw all that together, and you get $83 billion in lost sales.

The government created a student loan problem and look what happens.