As applied to the behavior of homeowners with mortgages, option theory predicts that mortgage prepayment or default will be exercised if the call or put option in "in the money" by some specific amount. Our analysis: tests the extent to which the option approach can explain default and...

We examine house price co-movements within and cross four major economic blocks: North America, Europe, Oceania and the Far East. The purpose of this study is to establish: (1) Whether there was increased house price correlation within a given economic block or across different blocks in the...