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Competition and Appraisal Inflation

Author

Listed:
  • James Conklin

    (University of Georgia)

  • N. Edward Coulson

    (University of California Irvine)

  • Moussa Diop

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Thao Le

    (Georgia State University)

Abstract

In mortgage debt contracts, real property serves as collateral and the terms of mortgage financing are largely conditional on the certification of collateral value by appraisers. However, overstatement of collateral value is common in the appraisal industry, causing troubles in the mortgage market as observed in the recent crisis. In this paper, we examine whether competition in the appraisal industry affects appraisal bias. We model appraiser behavior given a loan officer’s preference for favorable appraisals (i.e. appraisal values at least as high as the transaction prices). As appraisers cater to loan officers to increase their probability of winning future business, our model predicts more inflated appraisals in more competitive markets. We confirm this prediction using a sample of purchase mortgages originated between 2003-2006 by a large subprime mortgage lender. Our results show that a one standard deviation increase in appraiser competition, measured at the MSA/year level, is associated with a 1.6–3.7 percentage point increase in the share of at-price appraisals. Furthermore, the effect is stronger in areas experiencing high house price growth.

Suggested Citation

  • James Conklin & N. Edward Coulson & Moussa Diop & Thao Le, 2020. "Competition and Appraisal Inflation," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 1-38, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jrefec:v:61:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s11146-019-09697-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11146-019-09697-w
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    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. James N. Conklin & N. Edward Coulson & Moussa Diop, 2023. "Distressed comps," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(1), pages 170-195, January.
    3. Samuel Kruger & Gonzalo Maturana, 2021. "Collateral Misreporting in the Residential Mortgage-Backed Security Market," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(5), pages 2729-2750, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Competition; Appraisal bias; Mortgages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis

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