Your choice: A house or a college degree [View all]

[Liberal_in_LA]

Your choice: A house or a college degree

The increasingly heavy yoke of student loan debt means that a generation of Americans is choosing education over homeownership, whether they realize it or not.

A housing industry adviser last week pointed out to clients -- banks, builders, manufacturers and investors -- that student loan debt has become so huge, nationally, that it could be interfering with the housing recovery.

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Palacios wrote a blog post, "Skyrocketing student loan debt will delay homeownership." "Student loan debt now totals $865 billion, which is greater than all credit card debt outstanding, as well as all other types of household debt except for mortgages!" he says.

Young Americans are, by default, choosing college, it appears. But it's unlikely that many will really perceive the choice they made until years later.

College-educated workers do earn more than workers without college degrees. But, on average, incomes of Americans under 44 have, at best, only held steady (after inflation) in 20 years. It takes a lot of earning power to pay off massive loans and save a down payment.

http://money.msn.com/debt-management/article.aspx?post=f75dafa1-a024-45c8-9e79-20f72416f587