Consumer Ruthlessness and Mortgage Default During the 2007 to 2009 Housing Bust
64 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2010 Last revised: 10 Jun 2017
Date Written: November 9, 2016
Abstract
From 2007 to 2009 U.S. house prices plunged and mortgage defaults surged. While ostensibly consistent with widespread “ruthless default,” analysis of detailed mortgage and house price data indicates that borrowers do not walk away until they are deeply underwater – far deeper than traditional models predict. The evidence suggests that lender recourse is not the major driver of this result. We argue that emotional and behavioral factors play an important role in decisions to continue paying. Borrower reluctance to walk away implies that the moral hazard cost of default as a form of social insurance may be lower than suspected.
Note: An older version of this paper circulated under the title, "The Depth of Negative Equity and Mortgage Default Decisions"
Keywords: Housing, mortgage default, negative equity, ruthless default, strategic default, underwater
JEL Classification: D12, G21, R20
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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