This paper examines the impact of refinancing on mortgage defaults based on an empirical investigation of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). We study a unique dataset from Freddie Mac which includes loans funded right before and after the HARP eligibility cutoff date, an exogenous...

This paper evaluates the effect of payment reduction on mortgage default within the context of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). We find that mortgage default is sensitive to payment reduction across univariate, duration, and hazard modeling approaches. A relative risk Cox model of...

Automated valuation models (AVMs) are increasingly being used as a substitute for home appraisals in mortgage origination. This paper examines whether there are differences in the credit risk of mortgages originated using AVMs relative to traditional appraisals. This question is explored through...