Millennial home buyers and renters are hampered by health care costs

Medical debts are more likely than other kinds of debt to get in the way of Americans trying to buy or rent a home, according to an annual survey by real-estate data firm Zillow.

The survey found that 38 percent of people who owe money for health care said they’d been turned down for a mortgage or home rental because of those liabilities — a higher rate of rejection than for other kinds of debt like student loans or credit cards.

While much attention has been paid to student debt as an obstacle to homeownership among millennials, the Zillow survey indicated that about 1 in 5 would-be buyers in that age group are hampered by medical debt, too.

Some measures show that US housing affordability has been improving in recent years, but Zillow said that incomes aren’t keeping up with the cost of buying or renting a home — and that the growing debt burden Americans are incurring to pay for college or health care is making the situation worse.

The Zillow survey asked 13,000 US adults who are household decision-makers about their homes.

Reported by the Associated Press. Learn More.