Student loans keeping graduates in rental property

11 2008
Large student debts and a lack of first-time buyer mortgages on the market mean that a significant proportion of graduates will stay in the renal property sector for some years after graduating.

That is according to the student financial charity UniAid, which explained that housing affordability issues for new graduates have shown no sign of easing over recent months and are in fact getting worse as lenders make it more difficult for them to get onto the property ladder.

Alistair Lomax, the charity's executive director, explained that demand for rental property across the country looks likely to remain strong as graduates come out of full-time education "saddled with debt and if lenders are more risk-averse".

"We're concerned that students are going to find it more difficult to borrow money to get on the bottom rung of the housing ladder – which already may be out of reach," he added.

Earlier research carried out by UniAid found that the average graduate debt has now soared to £17,500, leaving many with no option but to rent a flat or house for the first few years of their professional lives. ADNFCR-1219-ID-18547991-ADNFCR

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