Young adults are waiting a few extra years to buy their first home, according to a study released Tuesday by loanDepot.
The median age for a first-time homebuyer is now 36 years old—two years older than in 2010.
A rise in student loan debt is driving the delay, the survey showed. The size of a borrower's size student loan payments, calculated as a percentage of total monthly debt, had the greatest impact on mortgage eligibility.
In the past four years, the average monthly student loan payments for borrowers who received a mortgage increased 20%, to $312. Average payments increased 78%, to $488, for those who were not approved for a home loan.
The lender noted that student loan debt is a growing concern for potential homeowners, now that the federal qualified mortgage rule caps a borrower's debt-to-income ratio at 43%.
The survey looked at a sample of 46,000 borrowers from 2010 through 2014.
