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Paying Too Much? Borrower Sophistication and Overpayment in the US Mortgage Market

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Abstract

Comparing mortgage rates that borrowers obtain to rates that lenders could offer for the same loan, we find that many homeowners significantly overpay for their mortgage, with overpayment varying across borrower types and with market interest rates. Survey data reveal that borrowers’ mortgage knowledge and shopping behavior strongly correlate with the rates they secure. We also document substantial variation in how expensive and profitable lenders are, without any evidence that expensive loans are associated with a better borrower experience. Despite many lenders operating in the US mortgage market, limited borrower sophistication may provide lenders with market power.

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  • Neil Bhutta & Andreas Fuster & Aurel Hizmo, 2024. "Paying Too Much? Borrower Sophistication and Overpayment in the US Mortgage Market," Working Papers 24-11, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpwp:98395
    DOI: 10.21799/frbp.wp.2024.11
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    Cited by:

    1. Bartlett, Robert & Morse, Adair & Stanton, Richard & Wallace, Nancy, 2022. "Consumer-lending discrimination in the FinTech Era," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 30-56.
    2. Myśliwski, Mateusz & Rostom, May, 2022. "Value of information, search, and competition in the UK mortgage market," Bank of England working papers 967, Bank of England.
    3. Sumit Agarwal & Yongheng Deng & Jia He & Yonglin Wang & Qi Zhang, 2023. "Lenders’ pricing strategy: Do neighborhood risks matter?," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1011-1047, July.
    4. Mark Egan & Shan Ge & Johnny Tang, 2022. "Conflicting Interests and the Effect of Fiduciary Duty: Evidence from Variable Annuities," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(12), pages 5334-5386.
    5. Ge Gao & Alex Nikolsko‐Rzhevskyy & Oleksandr Talavera, 2023. "Can central banks be heard over the sound of gunfire?," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 46(S1), pages 183-203, December.
    6. Madeira, Carlos, 2021. "The potential impact of financial portability measures on mortgage refinancing: Evidence from Chile," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    7. Steven Malliaris & Daniel A. Rettl & Ruchi Singh, 2022. "Is competition a cure for confusion? Evidence from the residential mortgage market," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(1), pages 206-246, March.
    8. Marta Cota & Ante Sterc, 2024. "Financial Skills and Search in the Mortgage Market," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp780, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    9. Natee Amornsiripanitch, 2023. "The Age Gap in Mortgage Access," Working Papers 23-03, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    10. Guiso, Luigi & Pozzi, Andrea & Tsoy, Anton & Gambacorta, Leonardo & Mistrulli, Paolo Emilio, 2022. "The cost of steering in financial markets: Evidence from the mortgage market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(3), pages 1209-1226.
    11. Duc Duy Nguyen & Steven Ongena & Shusen Qi & Vathunyoo Sila, 2022. "Climate Change Risk and the Cost of Mortgage Credit [Does climate change affect real estate prices? Only if you believe in it]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1509-1549.
    12. Phoebe Tian & Chen Zheng, 2024. "Unintended Consequences of the Home Affordable Refinance Program," Staff Working Papers 24-11, Bank of Canada.
    13. Luis Arturo Lopez & Shawn J. McCoy & Vivek Sah, 2022. "Steering consumers to lenders in residential real estate markets," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(6), pages 1596-1641, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mortgage; price dispersion; consumer search; financial literacy; interest rates;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G53 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Financial Literacy
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D18 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Protection
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects

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