: Student debt is keeping many Americans from becoming homeowners — and COVID didn’t help

While the pandemic has been economically devastating for many Americans, for others it hasn’t proved as destructive. Indeed, even when they weren’t receiving stimulus checks, Americans’ credit scores in 2020 rose to their highest level in more than a decade.

But those with student-loan debt have had little opportunity to move ahead financially during the pandemic, even though the government allowed them to pause payments on their federal student loans. That could have serious ramifications for people’s housing decisions in…