Subprime Mortgage Lending Research Articles

The Impact of Single-family Mortgage Foreclosures on Neighborhood Crime

Foreclosures of single-family mortgages have increased dramatically in many parts of the US in recent years. Much of this has been tied to the rise of higher-risk subprime mortgage lending. Debates concerning mortgage regulation, as well as around other residential finance policies and practices, hinge critically on the social as well as personal costs of loan default and foreclosure. This paper examines the impact of foreclosures of single-family mortgages on levels of violent and property crime at the neighborhood level. Using data on foreclosures, neighborhood characteristics, and crime, the study found that higher foreclosure levels do contribute to higher levels of violent crime. The results for property crime are not statistically significant. A standard deviation increase in the foreclosure rate (about 2.8 foreclosures for every 100 owner-occupied properties in one year) corresponds to an increase in neighborhood violent crime of approximately 6.7 per cent. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.

The Neighborhood Distribution of Subprime Mortgage Lending

Subprime lending in the residential mortgage market, characterized by relatively high credit risk and interest rates or fees, has developed over the past decade into a prominent segment of the market (Temkin, 2000). Recent research indicates that there is geographical concentration of subprime mortgages in Census tracts where there are high concentrations of low-income and minority households. The growth in subprime lending represents an expansion in the supply of mortgage credit among households who do not meet prime market underwriting standards. Nonetheless, its apparent concentration in minority and lower income neighborhoods has generated concerns that these households may not be obtaining equal opportunity in the prime mortgage market. Such lending may undermine revitalization to the extent that it is associated with so-called predatory practices.

Do Predatory Lending Laws Influence Mortgage Lending? An Analysis of the North Carolina Predatory Lending Law

In this paper, we examine the effect of the 1999 North Carolina predatory lending law on mortgage activity in that state as compared to other states in the Southeastern United States. Using 1998–2000 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, we find that the North Carolina law reduced the overall level of subprime mortgage lending activity. Furthermore, we find that the North Carolina decline was caused by a decline in loan application volume and not by a change in loan denial rates, suggesting less aggressive marketing in that state after the imposition of the law. Finally, the impact of the legislation was different by both the type of financial service provider and borrower. Specifically, non-bank subprime lending contracted faster in North Carolina when compared to the control group, while both minority and low-income applicants were also less likely to get loans following the legislation. These results have wide ranging policy implications given that several predatory lending proposals are currently before Congress, as well as proposed in almost forty other states.

The Neighborhood Distribution of Subprime Mortgage Lending

Subprime lending has grown over the past decade into a highly visible part of the United States' mortgage market. Previous studies have shown that a relatively large share of subprime lending occurs in census tracts with high concentrations of low-income and minority households, generating the concern that minority households may not be provided equal opportunity in the prime mortgage market. This study expands the literature by utilizing data from the Census, HMDA, and proprietary data on neighborhood risk factors, to perform a spatial analysis of subprime lending across Census tracts, supplemented with a logit regression analysis at the borrower level. Results indicate that lending patterns across neighborhoods are strongly influenced by neighborhood risk composition. Across census tracts, increased credit risk is associated with a larger subprime share of loans in the tract or increased odds of subprime borrowing relative to prime. We also find a substantial concentration of subprime lending in neighborhoods where homeowners are predominantly African American, and we find that African-American borrower is strongly correlated with being a subprime borrower in the logit regressions, with or without the control variables.