While student debt is not the main reason why young Britons are struggling to get onto the property ladder, it is a compounding factor, according to an industry observer.
Savills researcher Lucian Cook commented that obstacles standing between potential first-time buyers and homeownership are compounded by the fact that many are indebted.
University graduates have the advantage that they are more likely than some other potential first-time buyers to command a salary that will enable them to afford purchasing property, he explained.
Indeed, Hay Group management consultancy noted a 2.5 per cent rise in average graduate salaries between 2006 and 2007, with the typical graduate currently earning £20,812.
However, Mr Cook added, "a lot of people simply are not going to meet that sort of income level to enable them to get on the housing ladder as quickly as perhaps they thought they might have done".
He concluded that this will be "compounded" if they are already burdened with existing debt from their student days.
