Dive Brief:

• Issuing its 2014 report on U.S. housing on the heels of the government's concluding that the economy shrank during the cold first quarter, Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies said the housing sector is slowly coming back but will follow, not lead, the overall economic recovery.
• The center sided with those who believe that mounting student debt, which rose $114 billion in 2013, is a major factor in squeezing down the number of first-time home buyers. 
• Another factor in restoring those buyers to pre-recession levels, according to the report, will be how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reformed and how that will affect lending standards and mortgage affordability as minorities look to make up 46% of the 25-34 age group by 2025.

Dive Insight:

The number of adults aged 20 to 29 who were living with their parents went up by 2.1 million last year, the study said. The center's research director, Chris Herbert, said housing depends on members of the millennial generation beginning to make more money in a stronger economy. "As long as the economy remains on the path of slow, but steady improvement, housing should follow suit," he said.