The Fed says student loans are smothering the housing market

• The reduction in home buyers "represents over 400,000 young individuals who would have owned a home in 2014 had it not been for the rise in debt."
• "We found that a $1,000 increase in student loan debt ... causes a 1 to 2 percentage point drop in the homeownership rate for student loan borrowers during their late 20s and early 30s."

Yes, but: The Fed argued that student loan debt was an important but not "central cause" of the reduction in home buying. Researchers largely put the onus on tighter bank lending standards.

The bigger picture: The Fed also focused on additional harms from increased student debt.

• "We show that higher student loan debt early in life leads to a lower credit score later in life, all else equal."

Go deeper: The average U.S. household has 828% more student debt than in 1999