Understanding the
Subprime Mortgage Crisis

New York University (NYU) - Department of Finance

December 5, 2008

Abstract:
Using loan-level data, we analyze the quality of subprime mortgage loans by adjusting their performance for differences in borrower characteristics, loan characteristics, and macroeconomic conditions. We find that the quality of loans deteriorated for six consecutive years before the crisis and that securitizers were, to some extent, aware of it. We provide evidence that the rise and fall of the subprime mortgage market follows a classic lending boom-bust scenario, in which unsustainable growth leads to the collapse of the market. Problems could have been detected long before the crisis, but they were masked by high house price appreciation between 2003 and 2005.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 40

Keywords: mortgage, subprime, delinquency, foreclosure

JEL Classifications: D12, G12, G21

Working Paper Series

Date posted: October 10, 2007 ; Last revised: June 20, 2009

Suggested Citation

Demyanyk, Yuliya S. and Van Hemert, Otto, Understanding the Subprime Mortgage Crisis (December 5, 2008). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1020396

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Contact Information

Yuliya Demyanyk Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland ( email ) Research Department East 6th & Superior Cleveland, OH 44101-1387 United States HOME PAGE: http://www.clevelandfed.org/Research/Economists/Demyanyk
Otto Van Hemert (Contact Author) New York University (NYU) - Department of Finance ( email ) Stern School of Business 44 West 4th Street New York, NY 10012-1126 United States

MORTGAGE FRAUD VICTIMS

Friday, July 22, 2011