We provide a framework for empirical analysis of negotiated-price markets. Using mortgage market data and a search and negotiation model, we characterize the welfare impact of search frictions and quantify the role of search costs and brand loyalty for market power. Search frictions reduce...

We analyze daily mortgage rates posted by online lenders at the price comparison site, Microsurf. While cost shocks occurred almost daily in our sample, quoted mortgage rates are surprisingly rigid: Only 16 percent of the posted rates represent changes. However, firms that adjusted rates in...

We examine when it might be optimal for borrowers to switch providers of debt products such as their mortgage, allowing in particular for the role of uncertainty by constructing a stylized real options model of the decision problem involved. We illustrate with numerical examples, and then...

I develop a structural model of mortgage demand and lender competition to study how leverage regulation affects the equilibrium in the UK mortgage market. Using variation in risk-weighted capital requirements across lenders and across mortgages with differential loan-to-values, I show that a...

Since the Spring of 2009, Dutch mortgage rates have been structurally high, both in comparison to the rest of Europe and to funding costs. This paper reviews the debate on possible causes, which are of two kinds: (i) the higher mortgage rates reflect higher funding costs; and (ii) softer...

How do primary and secondary mortgage markets interact? This paper shows that funding shocks to mortgage originators interact with the degree of local credit market competition to increase lending growth. Specifically, I use a shift-share approach to estimate the causal effect of the growth in...

Consolidation of the Spanish banking sector after the financial crisis of 2008 raises concerns about potential negative effects on competition. I use structural econometric methods to examine these anti-competitive concerns in the Spanish mortgage market. I estimate a mixed-logit model of...

A key feature of the 2007-2008 financial crisis is that for some classes of securities trade has ceased. And where trade does occur, it appears that market prices are well below what one might believe to be the intrinsic value for that class of security. This seems to be especially true for...

Market models that have worked well for years can suddenly fail dramatically, such as during the financial crisis of the late-2000s. For example, models that assigned credit ratings to mortgage-backed securities (MBS) predicted relative default rates well for decades. It was only in the...

The policy debate surrounding predatory lending laws and the subprime mortgage market opposes two hypotheses. The first is that an efficient market is providing broader access to credit, offering mortgages with higher rates and fees to higher risk borrowers, and that prices relate directly to...