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The federal response to home mortgage distress: lessons from the Great Depression

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Abstract

This article examines the federal response to mortgage distress during the Great Depression: It documents features of the housing cycle of the 1920s and early 1930s, focusing on the growth of mortgage debt and the subsequent sharp increase in mortgage defaults and foreclosures during the Depression. It summarizes the major federal initiatives to reduce foreclosures and reform mortgage market practices, focusing especially on the activities of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), which acquired and refinanced one million delinquent mortgages between 1933 and 1936. Because the conditions under which the HOLC operated were unusual, the author cautions against drawing strong policy lessons from the HOLC's activities. Nonetheless, similarities between the Great Depression and the recent episode suggest that a review of the historical experience can provide insights about alternative policies to relieve mortgage distress.

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  • David C. Wheelock, 2008. "The federal response to home mortgage distress: lessons from the Great Depression," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 90(May), pages 133-148.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedlrv:y:2008:i:may:p:133-148:n:v.90no.3,pt.1
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    1. Daniel Aaronson & Daniel Hartley & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2021. "The Effects of the 1930s HOLC "Redlining" Maps," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 355-392, November.
    2. Fleitas, Sebastian & Fishback, Price & Snowden, Kenneth, 2018. "Economic crisis and the demise of a popular contractual form: Building & Loans in the 1930s," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 28-44.
    3. Piskorski, Tomasz & Seru, Amit, 2021. "Debt relief and slow recovery: A decade after Lehman," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(3), pages 1036-1059.
    4. William N. Goetzmann & Frank Newman, 2010. "Securitization in the 1920's," NBER Working Papers 15650, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Alba Miñano-Mañero, 2024. "When are D-graded neighborhoods not degraded? Greening the legacy of redlining," Working Papers REM 2024/0353, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    6. Collins, J. Michael & Urban, Carly, 2018. "The effects of a foreclosure moratorium on loan repayment behaviors," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 73-83.
    7. William Goetzmann & Frank Newman, 2010. "Securitizations in the 1920's," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2668, Yale School of Management.
    8. Natacha Postel-Vinay, 2015. "What caused Chicago bank failures in the Great Depression? A look at the 1920s," Working Papers 22, Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge.
    9. David C. Wheelock, 2008. "Changing the rules: state mortgage foreclosure moratoria during the Great Depression," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 90(Nov), pages 569-584.
    10. Steven Gjerstad, 2009. "Housing Market Price Tier Movements in an Expansion and Collapse," Working Papers 09-01, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    11. Harding, John P. & Rosenblatt, Eric & Yao, Vincent W., 2009. "The contagion effect of foreclosed properties," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 164-178, November.
    12. Postel-Vinay, Natacha, 2016. "What caused Chicago bank failures in the Great Depression? A look at the 1920s," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 88844, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Jonathan D. Rose, 2011. "The Incredible HOLC? Mortgage Relief during the Great Depression," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(6), pages 1073-1107, September.
    14. Courtemanche, Charles & Snowden, Kenneth, 2011. "Repairing a Mortgage Crisis: HOLC Lending and Its Impact on Local Housing Markets," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(2), pages 307-337, June.
    15. Metrick, Andrew, 2022. "Broad-Based Emergency Liquidity Programs," Journal of Financial Crises, Yale Program on Financial Stability (YPFS), vol. 4(2), pages 86-178, April.
    16. Chwieroth, Jeffrey M. & Walter, Andrew, 2019. "The financialization of mass wealth, banking crises and politics over the long run," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100765, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. David C. Wheelock, 2008. "Government response to home mortgage distress: lessons from the Great Depression," Working Papers 2008-038, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    18. James B. Bullard & Christopher J. Neely & David C. Wheelock, 2009. "Systemic risk and the financial crisis: a primer," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 91(Sep), pages 403-418.

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