The topic of neighborhood redevelopment is central to the field residential appraisal and the lending process. We examine both the effect of neighborhood upgrading and decline, captured by subsidized new residential construction and sustained property tax delinquency respectively, on the sales...

We examine the personal bankruptcy decisions of lower-income homeowners before and after the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). Econometric studies suggest that personal bankruptcy is explained by financial gain rather than adverse events, but data constraints have...

There is limited evidence of the role of household-level adverse trigger events in driving mortgage default, and the evidence based on proxies, such as the unemployment rate, is inconsistent. Using a survey of low- and moderate-income homeowners with community reinvestment mortgages, we study...

As part of President Barack Obama's Climate Action Plan, the Obama administration recently proposed that energy efficiency should be factored into mortgage underwriting upon the sale or refinancing of new and existing homes. Little empirical evidence unfortunately exists on the relationship...

There is limited evidence of the role of household-level adverse trigger events in driving mortgage default, and the evidence based on proxies, such as the unemployment rate, is inconsistent. Using a survey of low- and moderate-income homeowners with community reinvestment mortgages, we study...

The future of American homeownership is being pushed in contradictory directions by demographic changes. The aging of the Baby Boomers would support higher levels of homeownership, but the increasing minority share of the population and the persistent racial gap in homeownership acts to reduce...

Households face a tradeoff between housing costs and commuting costs. Using a database that connects residence and workplace neighborhoods in eight larger metropolitan areas, we model the difference in housing costs as a function of estimated commuting distance. Based on the linear distance...

Recent reviews of the Federal Housing Administration's Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund find that the losses on its portfolio are projected to exceed the revenue from its existing insurance policies and its current capital resources. This article places the MMI Fund's “negative economic...

The Great Recession (fourth quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of 2009) has been characterized by high rates of foreclosures and unemployment. Using a sample of community reinvestment loans, we examine the impact of structural or long term unemployment and cyclical or short term...

Filing for bankruptcy is the primary legal mechanism by which homeowners in foreclosure can exert control over ownership of their home, yet little is known about the interplay between bankruptcy chapters, mortgage servicers, state foreclosure laws, and home foreclosure auctions. We analyze 4,280...