On December 6, Millennial Action Project COO Layla Zaidane spoke on a panel about student debt's effect on young homebuyers at "The Future of the U.S. Housing Market," hosted by the National Association of Realtors and S&P Global. Fellow panelists included experts Dr. Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economists at S&P Global Ratings, and Jessica Lautz, managing director of survey research and communication at the National Association of Realtors.

Zaidane stressed the importance of creating bipartisan solutions to the issue of student debt in order to promote long-term stability for future generations. She shared that in recent polling of millennials, a majority of respondents said that "stability" is what the American Dream means to them. While this idea dovetails with the goal of homeownership, that goal is often stifled by student debt. One direct data point underlying the deleterious effect of burdensome debt: the share of first-time homebuyers has been below 40% in recent years.

Zaidane praised the work of MAP's Future Caucuses, particularly at the state level, who have been consistently making bipartisan efforts on student debt. Continuing this momentum in 2018 and beyond will ensure that more millennials have the opportunity to participate in the housing market.