Student loans can be a burden to young adults who are trying to save up to buy their first home, as each monthly payment is that much less you can put in the bank. A recent study by the real estate site Trulia says that while this debt is an obstacle in the short term, the education a borrower receives is often necessary to achieve the income level necessary to buy a home in certain markets.

Ralph McLaughlin, housing economist for Trulia, says the study aimed to determine if a college degree is a necessary part of buying a home or if it is easier to save up money without having to pay down student loan debt. McLaughlin says people buying a home without student loans can save up money for a down payment faster in certain markets, but are less likely to achieve an income level sufficient for saving up enough money in other areas.

It is often recommended that people saving up to buy a home have at least 20 percent available, as the buyer will have to pay private mortgage insurance for lower down payments. A previous Trulia survey determined that 30 percent of potential buyers in the United States between the ages of 25 and 30 are trying to save up a down payment in the next two years.

One way to figure out how long it will take to save up a down payment in a metro area is to compare median home prices and income. For example, if an area has a median home price of $200,000, a 20 percent down payment will require $40,000. If the median income in the metro area is $50,000 and the buyer saves 10 percent a year, it will take eight years for them to save up this amount.

However, McLaughlin says other factors will make this savings period much more fluid. Home prices and income are likely to change over time, and student loans will affect how much a buyer is able to save each year. McLaughlin says the average American with a college education has to repay $26,000 in student loans, or $280 a month over 10 years.

For this reason, McLaughlin says it is more accurate to estimate changes in income, home prices, and student loan debt over time to determine when a buyer has saved enough for a down payment. The study still assumes a 20 percent down payment, 10 percent savings rate, and 10-year repayment plan for student loans.

Data for these calculations included the 20-year Federal Housing Finance Agency home price growth rate for 100 of the largest metro areas in the United States and how incomes vary among employed people between the ages of 25 and 30 and those between the age of 45 and 50, as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. This information also notes the difference in income between people with and without a college degree as well as wage growth between younger and older adults.

In some areas, a person in the 25-30 age group would be able to save up for a down payment faster if they do not have student loans. In Columbia, South Carolina and El Paso, Texas, the study found that a person without a college education would be able to save money for a down payment 1.6 years faster than someone paying student loans. Other metro areas where a person without a college education would be able to save significantly faster included Las Vegas, Nevada (1.5 years) and Daytona Beach, Florida (1.1 years).

McLaughlin says that the typical increase in income resulting from a college education was minimal in these areas. The study says markets where it is easier to save for a down payment without having to pay student loans tend to have modest median incomes.

In other areas, the study determined that a college degree was usually necessary in order to achieve the income required to save up for a home. California was the home to most of these markets, and McLaughlin says the rapidly rising prices in San Francisco make it nearly impossible to save up for a down payment on a home in this city without a college degree.

Even with this education, the savings periods for some metro areas were especially long. With a college degree, the study estimates that it will take a young buyer 29.4 years to save the $560,590 required for a median down payment in San Francisco. The estimated time period was 18.8 years for the median $196,616 down payment in Los Angeles and 18.5 years for the median $235,939 required in Orange County.

The study identified Fairfield County in Connecticut as one of the most difficult places to save up enough money to make a down payment without a college degree. Trulia says the amount required for a 20 percent down payment would be $185,494, and that it would take 20.1 years to save up this amount.

In several markets, the study determined that a young buyer could save up a down payment in a short period of time whether they have a college education or not. The study estimates that a person between the ages of 25 and 30 with student loans could save for a down payment in 4.1 years, while a person without loans would be able to do so in 5.3 years. Ohio had several other affordable markets allowing a young buyer to save enough money for a down payment in six years or less, including Akron, Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo.

In Rochester, New York, there was no difference in the savings period between young buyers with student loans and buyers without them. The study says it would take either type of young buyer 6.3 years to save up $32,767 for a down payment.

McLaughlin says that while it is usually a good idea to put down as much of a down payment as you are able to afford, you can reduce the savings period by contributing 10 percent for the down payment instead of 20 percent. Since home price appreciation proceeds faster than income growth in some markets, it will take you much longer to catch up with the median down payment through regular savings.

A 10 percent down payment would allow a young buyer without student loans to buy a home in San Francisco after 28.5 years of saving. It would bring the savings period down to much more reasonable levels in other California cities, reducing it from 45.4 years to 15.4 years in San Jose, 39.9 years to 12.8 years in Los Angeles, 32.3 years to 11.6 years in Orange County, and 29 years to 11.8 years in San Diego.