Student loans can be a major barrier to homeownership in more ways than one, which could explain why Millennials are losing hope in homeownership as part of the American dream.
United Wholesale Mortgage released a video showing three things to be on the lookout for in 2017, one of which explained the growing problem of student loans.
“Student loans are a major barrier to many Millennials to buying or refinancing a home,” UWM President and CEO Mat Ishbia said.
This sentiment is held by others in the industry as well. Back in July, the National Association of Realtors explained Millennials with student debt are not interested in buying a home. Another survey from NAR shows that Millennials with student debt struggle to save up for a down payment.
As it turns out, struggling to save for a down payment is only one way that student debt hinders homeownership. In order to get a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Federal Housing Administration loan, the prospective homeowner must be paying at least 1% of their loan balance each month.
“We’re hoping Fannie, FHA and Freddie Mac all get a little bit better on this because we think it’s a barrier to entry for a lot of people trying to buy a home,” Ishbia says in his video.
Ishbia also touches on the recent FHA mortgage insurance premium cut, which was pulled back on the first day of President Donald Trump’s administration.
It is important to note that although the video says Trump and Ben Carson, Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary nominee, ordered the reversal, however the change is a bit more complicated than that. In fact, Carson did not make any changes as he still hasn’t been confirmed as HUD secretary.
During his hearing, Carson responded to questions about it, saying he would “really examine” the FHA premium cut and said that he planned to discuss it with a number of interested parties before determining a course of action.
But is there a chance the cut could still go through? To put it simply – yes.
“We still think there’s a 30% change they will bring it back, but that means there’s a 70% chance that they won’t,” Ishbia said.
The last thing he touched on in is video was adjustable rate mortgages, saying they are making a comeback in the market, so lenders can get on the train or get left behind.
“If the whole industry is going this way and you don’t know how to sell them, you’re gonna get left behind,” he states.
Here is Ishbia’s three points video for February:
