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Study: Student loans don’t hinder mortgages

"TransUnion: Student Loans Do Not Impact Housing," HousingWire, May 13, 2015

 

Young buyers aren't being held back from obtaining a mortgage due to their student loan debt, according to a new report released from TransUnion.

 

Consumers between the ages of 18 and 29 with a student loan in repayment are "generally able" to qualify for new loans. Not only that, the study finds that those loans tend to perform as well or better than new loans to similarly aged consumers without student loans.

 

For its analysis, TransUnion researchers studied borrowers with student loans who entered repayment from three different timeframes: the fourth quarter of 2005, fourth quarter of 2009 and fourth quarter of 2012.

 

The report finds that student loan consumers in their 20s pass similarly aged consumers without a student loan after making payments for only three to six years. Student loans often have decades-long payoff periods. The study included mortgage loans but also auto loans and credit cards.

 

"Going to school impacts young consumers' access to credit; while in school, students may be less likely to have a job and generate the income necessary for loan approval," says Steve Chaouki, executive vice president and head of TransUnion's financial services business unit. "However, most catch up once they leave school – and their ability to catch up has not changed over the past decade. Our study demonstrates that consumers in their 20s with student loans in repayment – that is, once they finish school – are in fact able to access credit at levels similar to or better than their peers who do not have student loans."

 

The study found that the changing economy between 2005 and 2012 impacted young consumers' access to credit, and the percentage of consumers aged 18-29 with mortgages, credit cards or auto loans dropped significantly. But the study showed that the drop impacted consumers without student loans, as well as those with student loans.

 

"This is an especially important finding, because it shows the dramatic rise in student loan balances has not materially impacted young consumers in gaining access to mortgages, auto loans or credit cards, or in their ability to successfully manage their new credit obligations," says Charlie Wise, co-author of the study and vice president in TransUnion's Innovative Solutions Group.

Polk's Makeup, Economy Changing

By Bill Rufty, published in The Ledger, Guide to Polk, April 19, 2015

 

 

Businesses and ethnicities show more diverstity.

 

Polk County, once a bastion of agriculture and small rural communities has grown into a diverse area both in population and in business. 

 

The county is now estimated to have a population of 623,174, according to 2014 estimates by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida. That is a 3.5% increase from its US Census population in 2010 of 602,095.

 

Polk County has 17 municipalities, ranging from 237 residents of the smallest town, Highland Park, to the county's largest city, Lakeland, with 100,728.

 

Kevin Brickey, a Lakeland resident who is an economist for Hillsborough County and who keeps track of Polk as well, said Amazon was a major spur for growth as well and will likely be a Catalyst in the future.

 

"From November of 2013 to November of 2014, Polk County increased by roughly 400 jobs in manufacturing, 800 in whole sale (warehousing), 100,100 in retail and 600 professional," Brickey said.

Expectations and Market Realities in Real Estate 2015

National Association of REALTORS® February 6, 2015

 

Expectations and Market Realities in Real Estate 2015

 

 

As 2015 gets underway, many investors are more optimistic than they have been in years. Economic growth has been increasing, job growth has been improving, and consumers have been given a boost as gasoline prices have dipped nationwide. Compared to the markets and financial systems in other developed countries, the U.S. economy looks generally healthy.

With respect to commercial real estate investment, interest rates are still low and fundamentals continue to improve. Volume and pricing have been increasing, especially for high-quality properties in the coastal markets, but we have also seen high values and prices in more secondary and tertiary markets.

This report gives commercial investors the information they need to make forward-looking changes to the way they approach today's market, focusing on:

  • Economic outlook

  • Capital markets

  • Highlights and expectations for the five major property sector markets

    • office

    • industrial

    • retail

    • apartment

    • hotel

  • Collective analysis of the commercial investment environment

~Building long-term relationships with our neighbors 

throughout Polk County~

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© 2014 Erin Clements for King Real Estate Services. All Rights Reserved.

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