This article investigates the performance of real estate auctions relative to negotiated sales. It uses a repeat-sales methodology to control for unobserved differences in the quality of auction properties. Properties auctioned in Los Angeles during the 1980s boom sold at an estimated discount...

Rapid increases in house prices can make home ownership more difficult for prospective first-time home buyers by increasing the required down payment amount and, if the increases outpace income growth, by increasing the ratio of mortgage payments to income. In response to such constraints,...

Many researchers have noted that house prices reflect the capitalized value of local public services and amenities on house prices, but few empirical papers link the extent of house price capitalization to local spending decisions. In this paper we show that the causality indeed runs in both...

The main factors underlying the rise in mortgage defaults appear to be declines in house prices and deteriorated underwriting standards, in particular an increase in loan-to-value ratios and in the share of mortgages with little or no documentation of income. Contrary to popular perception, the...