Student loan debt in the United States has more than doubled over the last decade to about $1.5 trillion, and the Federal Reserve now estimates that it’s cutting into millennials’ ability to buy homes.

Homeownership rates for people aged 24-32 dropped nearly 9 percentage points between 2005 and 2014 — effectively driving down homeownership rates overall. In January, the Fed estimated 20 percent of that decline is attributable to student loan debt.

Whether that will shift with time as the millennial generation marries and has children, is the big economic question.

Heavy Student Loan Debt Forces Many Millennials To Delay Buying Homes

Illustration: Jon Marchione for NPR