This paper examines the dynamics between mortgage broker competition, origination fees, and price transparency. A reverse first-price sealed-bid auction model is used to motivate broker pricing behavior. Confirming the model predictions, our empirical analysis shows that increased mortgage...

This paper examines the dynamics between mortgage broker competition, origination fees, and price transparency. A reverse first-price sealed-bid auction model is used to motivate broker pricing behavior. Confirming the model predictions, our empirical analysis shows that increased mortgage...

This paper examines the relation between mortgage origination fees and mortgage broker competition. A reverse first-price sealed-bid auction model is used to motivate pricing behavior by brokers. Confirming the model predictions, our empirical analysis shows that increased mortgage brokerage...

This study explores the impact of investment characteristics, mainly investment location relative to the firm's primary market, on financing choices by real estate investment trusts (REITs). Using a large sample of commercial property acquisitions, we show that REITs are 4-8% less likely to use...

In mortgage debt contracts, real property serves as collateral and the terms of mortgage financing are largely conditional on the certification of collateral value by appraisers. However, overstatement of collateral value is common in the appraisal industry, causing troubles in the mortgage...

We present evidence that affiliation between the debt renegotiator and the originator represents a mechanism to reduce asymmetric information inherent in debt renegotiation. We hypothesize that affiliation affords servicers lower-cost access to borrower information, thus improving their ability...

We test for pricing disparities in mortgage contracts using a novel dataset that allows us to observe the race and ethnicity of both parties to the loan. We find that minorities pay between three and five percent more in fees than similarly qualified whites when obtaining a loan through the same...

This paper examines the relationship between broker-borrower interaction in the origination process and subsequent mortgage performance. I show that face-to-face interaction between a mortgage broker and borrower before the loan funds is associated with lower levels of ex post default. The...

This paper examines the relationship between broker-borrower interaction in the origination process and subsequent mortgage performance. I show that face-to-face interaction between a mortgage broker and borrower before the loan funds is associated with lower levels of ex post default. The...

This appendix contains six sections. The first section compares our sample to the broader subprime mortgage market. The second section describes our algorithm for inferring broker race and ethnicity. The third section considers rejection and funding uncertainty as potential explanations for...