Most U.S. house price models break down in the mid-2000s due to the omission of exogenous changes in mortgage credit supply (associated with the subprime mortgage boom) from house price-to-rent ratio and inverted housing demand models. Previous models lack data on credit constraints facing...

The U.S. house price boom has been linked to an unsustainable easing of mortgage credit standards. However, standard time series models of U.S. house prices omit credit constraints and perform poorly in the 2000s. We incorporate data on credit constraints for first-time buyers into a model of...

How did poor underwriting bring about the collapse of the subprime mortgage market? More importantly, how would subprime mortgages perform if underwriting standards did not deteriorate?

Like many countries, Spain has gone through a series of financial crises, both before and after its industrialization. There are many underlying causes for these crises, as well as for the current Spanish downturn. It is worth noting that there are similarities between recessions throughout the...

Excerpts from speeches by Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President, Richard W. Fisher.

Remarks to the Austin Mortgage Bankers Association, Austin, Texas, April 4, 2007 ; "The elimination of risk can never be the goal of any type of policymaker in a capitalist system. Risk becomes a problem only when it is excessive or when it is abused--a proposition that is especially true in...