Search Results
Working Paper
The measurement and determinants of single-family house prices
We assess the conceptual and empirical features of a number of house price series for the United States. We then calculate a measure of the net upgrading of the existing stock of houses that took place during the 1950-1989 period and adjust price indexes for this net increase in quality. Judgments about the trend, volatility, and determinants of house prices are shown to depend crucially on which price series is used. The Freddie Mac upgrade adjusted house price measure rose 5.7% over the past four decades, falling 7.7% from 1950 through 1970 before rising 14.5% from 1970 through 1989. Real ...
Journal Article
Economies of scale and continuing consolidation of credit unions
This Economic Letter shows that, in contrast to banks, larger credit unions, on average, have decidedly lower average costs and higher net incomes, as we might expect in the presence of important economies of scale. It further notes that these economies of scale put pressure on the credit union industry to continue consolidating into fewer, larger credit unions. It also describes how some recent legislation may have further added to the pressures on both the banking and credit union industries to consolidate.
Journal Article
Leading economic indicators
Journal Article
Fluctuating fortunes and Hawaiian house prices
Real estate prices in a local market can be driven by an identifiable group of purchasers. In Hawaii, residents of both the U.S. mainland and Japan have been significant purchasers of homes. An analysis suggests that house prices in Hawaii were driven primarily by purchasers from the U.S. mainland for most of the 1975?2008 period. But, during Japan?s ?bubble economy? in the late 1980s and immediately thereafter, house prices in Hawaii were driven primarily by demand from Japan.
Conference Paper
Domestic and international capital standards and bank assets
Journal Article
Inflation-proof long-term bonds
Journal Article
Inflation: retreating or reheating?
Journal Article
A real, affordable mortgage
Homeownership has long been a cherished American goal, but many now find that homeownership is no longer possible. The median household income of potential first-time homebuyers is now estimated to be only three-quarters that required to afford the median-priced starter home. As a consequence, the 1980s was the first decade since the Great Depression during which the aggregate homeownership rate fell. ; The Price Level Adjusted Mortgage (PLAM) represents a genuine and substantial advance in housing finance in an inflationary environment. PLAMs rearrange the timing of the mortgage payments so ...
Journal Article
Securitization and small business
Small businesses have relied considerably on securitized markets for credit. The recent financial crisis led to a virtual cessation of securitization of some of the loans used by small businesses, such as commercial real estate mortgages, vehicle, and credit card loans. In addition, values of commercial and residential real estate, which small businesses often use as collateral for loans, dropped dramatically. As a consequence, small businesses may have experienced tighter credit conditions than larger businesses, which rely relatively less on those categories of loans and collateral.
Journal Article
Real rates and recovery