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Working Paper
Inequality in the Time of COVID-19: Evidence from Mortgage Delinquency and Forbearance
Using a novel database that combines mortgage servicing records, credit-bureau data, and loan application information, we show that lower-income and minority borrowers have significantly higher nonpayment rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, even after controlling for conventional risk factors. A difference-in-differences analysis shows how much the pandemic has exacerbated income and racial inequalities. We then find that government and private-sector forbearance programs have mitigated these inequalities in the near term, as lower-income and minority borrowers have taken up the short-term ...
Working Paper
Institutional Investors, Rents, and Neighborhood Change in the Single Family Residential Market
Institutional investors that buy and rent out single family homes have continued to increase their presence after the Great Recession. We examine their neighborhood entry choices and rent charging behavior by leveraging tax and deed transfer records and Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data for 2010-2021. We find that investor share is higher in markets with lower housing values and higher shares of Black and noncollege residents, but higher median income. We also find that investors raise rents at 60% higher rates than the average increase when first acquiring the property, and higher investor ...