Real estate data firm RealtyTrac said Thursday average student loan debt loads are not enough exclusively preventing college graduates from purchasing a home.
The firm reported that 96% of U.S. housing markets remain affordable for recent graduates who make at least the median household income for their areas.
"Contrary to much rampant speculation that student loan debt is holding back homeownership among recent graduates, we found that the vast majority of markets are affordable for recent graduates making the median household income – even many of those recent graduates with student loans," Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac said.
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"However, student loans still represent a significant handicap for recent graduates in terms of the minimum income needed to buy a median priced home. Nationwide, recent graduates with student loans need to earn 34% more ($8,969) than recent graduates without student loans to be able to afford a median-priced home," he added.
Indebted graduates needed to earn the most compared to debt-free peers to qualify for a mortgage in Michigan (55%), Ohio (53%), Pennsylvania (49%), Iowa (48%) and Alabama (47%). States where student loan debt had the least impact on income needed to buy a median priced home included California (12%), New York (17%), Virginia (17%), Massachusetts (18%) and Wyoming (19%).
The firm said there were five counties out of the almost 500 it analyzed which were not affordable to recent graduates making the median income whether or not they had student loans. All were located in the San Francisco and New York City metropolitan areas.
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