Student debt joins weather in slowing housing sales

Source: Jeff Clabaugh, Washington Business Journal

Sales of existing homes in February were down 0.4 percent from January, and sales were 7.1 percent lower than a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. 

It blames much of the slowdown in closed sales in February on severe winter weather, but there are other factors dragging on the housing market now, including record student loan debt. 

NAR president Steve Brown says 20 percent of buyers under the age of 33, a prime group for first-time buyers, are putting off buying their first condo or house because of outstanding debt. And a NAR survey found 56 percent of younger buyers who took longer to save for a down payment identified student debt as the biggest obstacle. 

"It's clear there are other people who would like to buy a home that are not in the market because of debt issues, so we can expect a lingering impact of delayed home buying," Brown says. 

A slowdown in sales is not hurting prices, though. The median price of a closed sale of an existing home in February was up 9.1 percent from a year ago, largely because of continued tight inventory, NAR says. 



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