The data that mortgage lending institutions reported for 2008 under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA) reflect the ongoing difficulties in the housing and mortgage markets. This article presents a number of key findings from an initial review of the 2008 HMDA data. In particular, it...

We test for racial discrimination in the prices charged by mortgage lenders. We construct a unique dataset where we observe all three dimensions of a mortgage's price: the interest rate, discount points, and fees. While we find statistically significant gaps by race and ethnicity in interest...

This article documents patterns in residential mortgage lending through 2014 along a number of dimensions using data reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. After describing high level trends in mortgage lending by race, ethnicity and income through 2014, the article examines: (1) The...

Regression discontinuity estimates indicate that home buying is highly responsive to interest rates in a large segment of the population. A surprise 50 basis point cut in the effective interest rate for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) led to an immediate 14 percent...

This article provides an overview of the 2013 data reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA) and documents mortgage market activity over time as well as lending patterns across different demographic groups and lender types. In addition, we use a unique data set composed of...

Using credit record panel data from 1999-2010, we show that the likelihood of home equity extraction (borrowing, on average, about $40,000 against one's home) peaked in 2003 when mortgage rates hit historic lows, and estimate that a 100 basis point rate decline is associated with a 25 percent...

This article describes mortgage lending activity in 2012 based on newly available data reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). In addition, we present the results of a first look at a new data set composed of HMDA records matched to borrowers' credit records. Using the matched...

From 2007 to 2009 U.S. house prices plunged and mortgage defaults surged. While ostensibly consistent with widespread “ruthless default,” analysis of detailed mortgage and house price data indicates that borrowers do not walk away until they are deeply underwater – far deeper than...

We test for racial discrimination in the prices charged by mortgage lenders. We construct a unique dataset where we observe all three dimensions of a mortgage's price: the interest rate, discount points, and fees. While we find statistically significant gaps by race and ethnicity in interest...