Student Debt

WASHINGTON - Although the housing market is rebounding in many local markets, one important segment is not: First-time buyers are missing in action and represent a smaller proportion of overall sales activity than their historical norm. Whereas first-timers typically account for roughly 40% of sales, lately they've been involved in about 30% to 35%, depending on the source of the data. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Assn. of Realtors, estimates that there were 2.2 million fewer first-time buyers in the United States between 2008 and 2012 - a deficit of about 450,000 a year.

The millennial generation is aggressively whittling down its debt, as young people forgo homes and cars, according to a new study. The median debt of households headed by people under age 35 fell 29% between 2007 and 2010, according to the analysis from the Pew Research Center. That compares to a mere 8% decline for households of those 35 and older. Even more impressive, the percentage of younger households with debt of any kind dipped to 78%, the lowest since the federal government began gathering the data in 1983, according to the study .  But it ain't coming easy.

The student-loan market is not in a bubble and going into debt to pay for college is still worth it, according to a new report. But those are the rare bits of good news in the otherwise dispiriting report on students' escalating college debt. While concluding that diplomas are worth the money, the study by Wells Fargo economists found that the payoff may not come for years because graduates are squeezed by several factors. Tuition costs are rising faster than incomes. Graduates are having trouble finding solid jobs.

With decades ahead of them in the job market, more than half of millennials stay awake at night chewing over all manner of worries, according to a study. Those 18- to 33-yeas-olds actually stress out more than older generations, the American Psychological Assn. concluded in its new study. Slightly more than 50% said that overwhelming worries disrupted their sleep in the past month. A dour economy is top of mind for young people, with work and job stability sending their stress levels soaring.

Students borrowing money for college today are much likelier to default than people who took out loans just a few years ago, according to a new report. The student-loan delinquency rate in the last three years has risen to 15.1%, up from 12.4% from 2005 to 2007, according to FICO Labs, a unit of Fair Isaac Corp., which publishes consumer credit scores. That's a nearly 22% increase. The report is the latest red flag signaling that monstrous debt is a problem not only for students but potentially for the broader economy as well.

The 99% may have been a little above-average. A sampling of Occupy Wall Street supporters in May showed that the anti-corporate protest movement was disproportionately wealthy and educated, according to a study published Tuesday by the City University of New York. However, many protesters -- especially those younger than 30 -- had also been recently laid off and were saddled with debt, one of the signature issues of the movement. Participants were predominantly concerned about income inequality in the United States.

San Jose State launched a program Tuesday that will offer low-cost, online classes in entry-level subjects that are often in high demand for students seeking to transfer or obtain a degree. The university will partner with Udacity, a Silicon Valley online education group, to create for-credit courses. If successful, the program could expand access to tens of thousands of underserved students, including those in high school and community college, wait-listed San Jose State students and nontraditional students such as veterans and adults with jobs and families.

Among the many aftereffects of the popped housing bubble is the perception that many young adults have been spooked into doubting that they'll ever own a home — or even aspire to own one. Not true, says a new survey from a major real estate company, which contends that 18- to 35-year-olds do indeed like the idea of owning homes, and they've learned a thing or two from watching their parents struggle with the housing market. And by the way, that young adult child of yours, the one who has moved back home and established residence in your basement?

Americans saw their wealth increase by $1.7 trillion in the third quarter ended in September, a promising sign in the thick of the holiday shopping season. Total household and nonprofit net worth - the difference between the value of assets and liabilities - climbed 2.7% to nearly $64.8 trillion from $63 trillion the previous quarter. A year ago, the gauge was at $58.7 trillion, according to a report Thursday from the Federal Reserve. Households enjoyed a $301 billion bump in the value of their real estate holdings; the value of stock investments increased as well.