A big reason behind Millennials not jumping into homeownership this year is student loan debt.
MONDAY’S NEWS: Phoenix market cools for investors
A new study shows 414,000 fewer U.S. homes will be purchased this year because people under 40 have so much debt from school.
John Burns Real Estate Consulting predicts home sales will fall 8 percent during 2014 because of higher levels of student loans.
That drop translates to $83 billion less in revenue for the housing market based on the typical U.S. home costing $200,000, according to the Irvine, Calif., housing research firm.
No figures for Arizona yet.
Currently, about 5.9 million U.S. households under 40 owe $250 or more per month in student loans, a number that has nearly tripled since 2005.
Every $250 in monthly student-loan payments hurts borrowing and purchasing power by $44,000, according to the Burns study.
Metro Phoenix’s home sales through July were about 19 percent behind last year’s pace, according to Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business.