Rising mortgage rates have led to one in five Danish fixed-rate mortgages to be refinanced during the first three quarters of 2022. The unique Danish match-funding principle has allowed fixed rate mortgage borrowers to buy back their existing mortgages at a 18 per cent discount, on average. 62...

This paper documents large differences in mortgage prepayment behavior across racial and ethnic groups in the United States, which have significant implications for monetary policy, inequality, and pricing. Using a novel data set that combines administrative data on mortgage performance with...

We present a dynamic life-cycle model of demand for owner-occupied housing, investment property and liquid assets. Households face transaction costs, downpayment requirements, liquidity constraints, and tax preferences for owner-occupied housing. The model replicates key facts about home...

We examine the transmission of monetary policy shocks to the long-duration liabilities of households and firms using high-frequency variation in 10-year swap rates around FOMC announcements. We find that four weeks after the announcement mortgage rates move one-for-one with 10-year swap rates,...

Rising interest rates can create "mortgage rate lock" for homeowners with fixed rate mortgages, who can hold onto their low rates as long as they stay in their homes but would have to take on new mortgages with higher rates if they moved. We show mobility rates fell in 2022 and 2023 for...

We examine the transmission of monetary policy shocks to the long-duration liabilities of households and firms using high-frequency variation in 10-year swap rates around FOMC announcements. We find that four weeks after the announcement mortgage rates move one-for-one with 10-year swap rates,...

We propose a rich model of household behavior to study the effect of two important policies: mortgage interest tax deduction and mandatory mortgage amortization. These policies have attracted some controversy, first because they are conceived to increase overall saving, an objective that the...

Motivated by the assessment of racial discrimination in mortgage pricing, we introduce a new methodology for comparing the menus of options borrowers face based on their choices. First, we show how standard regression-based approaches for assessing discrimination in the menus context can lead to...

This paper develops a theoretical and empirical framework to assess the heterogeneous effects of mortgage rates on housing returns when accounting for the zero lower bound regime of the policy interest rate and state-level supply and demand conditions. Based on an interacted panel VAR estimated...

We study the effect of an increase in capital requirements for residential mortgages on mortgage rates and house prices. We exploit a unique quasi-experiment in which affected banks faced an increase in risk weights of five percentage points. Using a difference-in-difference estimator we find...

We study how US consumers' house price expectations respond to verbal and non-verbal communication about interest rate changes using several large online surveys. Verbal communication about interest rate hikes leads to little response of average house price expectations but large heterogeneity...

This paper documents large differences in mortgage prepayment behavior across racial and ethnic groups in the United States, which have significant implications for monetary policy, inequality, and pricing. Using a novel data set that combines administrative data on mortgage performance with...

By allowing different agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to be traded based on limited characteristics, the to-be-announced (TBA) market generates liquidity and benefits the MBS market broadly. We quantify effects of the TBA structure on mortgage borrowers. Exploiting discontinuities in TBA...

This paper examines whether monetary policy pass-through to mortgage interest rates affects household fertility decisions. Using administrative data on mortgages and births in the UK, our empirical strategy exploits variation in the timing of when families were eligible for a rate adjustment,...

This paper studies the evolution of mortgage debt and defaults between 2001 and 2013 using a large, nationally representative panel of credit reports. Our analysis suggests that the 2007-2009 spike in mortgage defaults was concentrated among borrowers with mid to high credit scores. Among those...

Why do residential mortgages carry a fixed or an adjustable interest rate? To answer this question we study unique data from 103 banks belonging to 73 different banking groups across twelve countries in the euro area. To explain the large cross-country and time variations observed, we...

This paper uses the universe of mortgage contracts to estimate the response of high-interest lenders to borrower protection regulations aimed at simplifying and making loan terms more transparent. Using a quasi-experimental design, we find that lenders substantially reduce interest rates - by an...

We study the implications of multi-period mortgage loans for monetary policy, considering several realistic modifications — fixed interest rate contracts, lower bound constraint on newly granted loans, and possibility for the collateral constraint to become slack — to an otherwise standard...