This paper studies how borrowers with different levels of default risk would self-select between Fixed Rate Mortgages (FRMs) and Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs). We show that under asymmetric information, where the risk type of a borrower is private information to the borrower and not known by...

In residential real estate an agent is often hired when an owner decides to sell his property. The seller may have less information than his agent and thus may be at a disadvantage in setting the asking price and negotiating the final selling price. The purpose of this study is to offer...

We develop two search-theoretic models emphasizing firm entry to examine the Oswald hypothesis, the idea that homeownership is linked to inferior labor market outcomes, and compare their predictions to three extant theories. The five models have surprisingly different predictions about the labor...

One of the important considerations for the transition economies of Eastern Europe is the prospect for long-term economic growth. The preliminary data since the beginning of the transition period indicates a wide-range of outcomes across the two dozen or so reforming economies. Recent...

We measure the effect of foreclosures on the sale prices of nearby properties using a dataset of condominiums in Boston. A foreclosure in the same association and at the same address depresses the sale price by 2.5 percent, but properties in the same association but located at a different...

We explore several different explanations of the effect of foreclosures on neighboring properties using a dataset of transactions in Boston, for which we have rich data on the size and location of condominium associations. There is compelling evidence against a supply effect—nearby condo...