Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) made a dramatic entry into the U.S. mortgage market subsequent to the passage of the GARN - St. Germain Depository Institutions Reform Act of 1982. By the mid 1990's over 20 percent of first mortgages were adjustable and were used across a wide range of urban...

The U.S. economy experienced a dramatic rise in the price of owner occupied housing during 1999-2007, and then a precipitous decline from 2007 through 2009. In this paper we utilize data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) during 1999-2009 to study first the factors and borrowing...