Search Results
Journal Article
After the refinancing boom: will consumers scale back their spending?
Concerns are rising that the recent surge in home equity withdrawal has left consumers in a weakened financial position that will, over time, prompt a retrenchment in spending. However, a look at household assets and liabilities suggests that consumers have used the withdrawn funds to restructure their balance sheets and reduce their debt service burden. As a result, households may be in a better position to spend in the years ahead.
Working Paper
Credit cycle and adverse selection effects in consumer credit markets -- evidence from the HELOC market
The authors empirically study how the underlying riskiness of the pool of home equity line of credit originations is affected over the credit cycle. Drawing from the largest existing database of U.S. home equity lines of credit, they use county-level aggregates of these loans to estimate panel regressions on the characteristics of the borrowers and their loans, and competing risk hazard regressions on the outcomes of the loans. The authors show that when the expected unemployment risk of households increases, riskier households tend to borrow more. As a consequence, the pool of households ...
Journal Article
Changes to Regulation Z Expand Loans Subject to HOEPA
The Home Ownership Equity Protection Act (HOEPA) was enacted in response to anecdotal evidence of abusive practices in the home equity lending market. The regulation that implements HOEPA, Regulation Z, has undergone several changes, including how creditors determine if a loan is covered under the act. Compliance with the expanded HOEPA rules is mandatory as of Oct. 1, 2002.
Journal Article
Recent developments in home equity lending
The equity that has accumulated in homes is one of the largest components of U.S. household wealth. In recent years, many homeowners have borrowed large amounts against that equity, frequently to finance new consumption expenditures or pay down outstanding consumer debt. In view of the growing importance of home equity credit in household finances, the Federal Reserve has for a number of years participated in nationwide surveys of the use of home equity loans. This article presents findings from a 1997 survey and from other sources of information on home equity lending.
Working Paper
Strategic default on first and second lien mortgages during the financial crisis
Strategic default behavior suggests that the default process is not only a matter of inability to pay. Economic costs and benefits affect the incidence and timing of defaults. As with prior research, the authors find that people default strategically as their home value falls below the mortgage value (exercise the put option to default on their first mortgage). While some of these homeowners default on both first mortgages and second lien home equity lines, a large portion of the delinquent borrowers have kept their second lien current during the recent financial crisis. These second liens, ...
Journal Article
Amendment effective September 19, 1990
Working Paper
Home equity withdrawal in retirement
The authors study empirically and theoretically the patterns of home equity withdrawal among retirees, using a model in which retirees are able to own or rent a home, save, and borrow against home equity, in the face of idiosyncratic risks concerning mortality, health, medical expenditures, and household size and observed house price changes. The estimated model is found to successfully replicate the patterns of homeownership and the saving/borrowing decisions of retirees. They use the estimated model for several counterfactual experiments. There are three main findings. First, the model ...
Journal Article
Home equity lending: evidence from recent surveys
Journal Article
New guidelines promote sound credit risk management
Journal Article
The golden years dilemma
With 3.2 million baby boomers eligible to retire this year, how many will be able to meet daily financial needs and still preserve home equity? The author advises seniors to plan carefully and learn about the many forms of assistance available.