Using Fannie Mae loan-level data on fixed-rate owner occupied purchase mortgage acquisitions, we examine the role of tightened underwriting standards on the default risk of low and moderate income (LMI) homebuyers. In three distinct underwriting regimes and subsequent housing market environments...

Prior evidence has shown appraised values of residential properties are biased, but the mechanism and motivation of appraisers to bias their estimates are unclear. We construct a database of 25.3 million comparable transactions selected and used by appraisers to estimate 6.5 million property...

Housing affordability is a key policy concern and an important factor in fostering sustainable homeownership. Housing costs in turn are a critical contributor to affordability. In this paper, we focus on the different components of housing costs to show the contribution of each expense to...