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Villains or scapegoats? The role of subprime borrowers in driving the U.S. housing boom

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  • Conklin, James N.
  • Frame, W. Scott
  • Gerardi, Kristopher
  • Liu, Haoyang

Abstract

An expansion in mortgage credit to subprime borrowers is widely believed to have been a principal driver of the 2002-2006 U.S. house price boom. By contrast, this paper documents a robust, negative correlation between the growth in the share of purchase mortgages to subprime borrowers and house price appreciation at the county-level during this time. Using two different instrumental variables approaches, we also establish causal evidence that house price appreciation lowered the share of purchase loans to subprime borrowers. Further analysis using micro-level credit bureau data shows that higher house price appreciation reduced the transition rate into first-time homeownership for subprime individuals. Finally, the paper documents that subprime borrowers did not play a significant role in the increased speculative activity and underwriting fraud that the literature has linked directly to the housing boom. Taken together, these results are more consistent with subprime borrowers being priced out of housing boom markets rather than inflating prices in those markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Conklin, James N. & Frame, W. Scott & Gerardi, Kristopher & Liu, Haoyang, 2022. "Villains or scapegoats? The role of subprime borrowers in driving the U.S. housing boom," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinin:v:51:y:2022:i:c:s1042957321000073
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfi.2021.100906
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    Cited by:

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    2. Griffin, John M. & Kruger, Samuel & Maturana, Gonzalo, 2021. "What drove the 2003–2006 house price boom and subsequent collapse? Disentangling competing explanations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(3), pages 1007-1035.
    3. Rojas, Alejandro, 2021. "Mortgage credit growth for lower-income borrowers during the 2000s housing boom: Evidence and implications," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 220-233.
    4. Chi-Young Choi & Alexander Chudik & Aaron Smallwood, 2024. "Time-varying Persistence of House Price Growth: The Role of Expectations and Credit Supply," Globalization Institute Working Papers 426, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    5. James N. Conklin & Haoyang Liu & Calvin Zhang, 2024. "Credit supply shocks, home purchase volume, and borrowing behavior," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 52(2), pages 486-513, March.
    6. James Conklin & Moussa Diop & Mingming Qiu, 2022. "Religion and Mortgage Misrepresentation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 273-295, August.
    7. Garcia-Villegas, Salomon, 2023. "The amplification effects of adverse selection in mortgage credit supply," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D18 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Protection
    • D53 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Financial Markets
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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