Differences in the Cost of Mortgage Credit: Implications for Discrimination

Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics

Posted: 3 Nov 1998

See all articles by Gordon Crawford

Gordon Crawford

Independent

Eric Rosenblatt

Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) - Research

Abstract

This paper accesses the mortgage origination processing system of a major national mortgage lender in the 1988-89 period to empirically measure mortgage interest rate differences paid by Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans. The calculated interest rate differences control for differences in market rates, rate lock protection, and borrower risk factors. In calculating a net interest rate, we test several different tradeoffs between interest rates and discount points. Under these strict controls, we find that conventional loan interest rates, while varying markedly between individuals, are largely race-neutral. Government credit models, however, show statistically significant, but economically insignificant, difference in interest rate premia paid by African Americans. These premia differences are approximately three basis points or $1.80 per month on an average loan. Additionally, African-American borrowers obtaining conventional mortgages and Hispanic borrowers obtaining government mortgages are not able to capture rate declines occurring during the borrower's rate-lock period.

Note: This is a description of the paper and is not the actual abstract.

JEL Classification: R0

Suggested Citation

Crawford, Gordon and Rosenblatt, Eric, Differences in the Cost of Mortgage Credit: Implications for Discrimination. Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=128628

Eric Rosenblatt

Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) - Research ( email )

16517 Keats Terrace
Derwood, MD 20855
United States

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