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Determinants of mortgage default and consumer credit use: the effects of foreclosure laws and foreclosure delays

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Abstract

The mortgage default decision is part of a complex household credit management problem. We examine how factors affecting mortgage default spill over to other credit markets. As home equity turns negative, homeowners default on mortgages and HELOCs at higher rates, whereas they prioritize repaying credit cards and auto loans. Larger unused credit card limits intensify the preservation of credit cards over housing debt. Although mortgage non-recourse statutes increase default on all types of housing debt, they reduce credit card defaults. Foreclosure delays increase default rates for both housing and non-housing debts. Our analysis highlights the interconnectedness of debt repayment decisions.

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  • Sewin Chan & Andrew F. Haughwout & Andrew Hayashi & Wilbert Van der Klaauw, 2015. "Determinants of mortgage default and consumer credit use: the effects of foreclosure laws and foreclosure delays," Staff Reports 732, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fednsr:732
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    Cited by:

    1. Drozd, Lukasz A. & Serrano-Padial, Ricardo, 2018. "Financial contracting with enforcement externalities," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 153-189.
    2. Helu Jiang & Juan M. Sanchez, 2016. "The Dynamics of Mortgage Debt in Default," Economic Synopses, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue 3.
    3. Alin Marius Andries & Anca Copaciu & Radu Popa & Razvan Vlahu, 2021. "Recourse and (strategic) mortgage defaults: Evidence from changes in housing market laws," Working Papers 727, DNB.
    4. Dendramis, Y. & Tzavalis, E. & Varthalitis, P. & Athanasiou, E., 2020. "Predicting default risk under asymmetric binary link functions," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1039-1056.
    5. Avanzini, Diego & Martı́nez, Juan Francisco & Pérez, Vı́ctor, 2020. "Assessing mortgage default risk in full-recourse economies, with an application to the case of Chile," Latin American Journal of Central Banking (previously Monetaria), Elsevier, vol. 1(1).
    6. Kanis Saengchote & Krislert Samphantharak, 2020. "Delinquency Priority in Consumer Credit: Evidence from Thai Microdata," PIER Discussion Papers 135, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Chao Ma & Hao Zhang & Hongbiao Zhao, 2023. "Securitization of assets with payment delay risk: A financial innovation in the real estate market," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(4), pages 480-515, April.
    8. Lukasz A. Drozd & Ricardo Serrano-Padial, 2017. "Credit Enforcement Cycles," Working Papers 17-27, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    9. Jiseob Kim, 2020. "How Unsecured Credit Policies Influence Mortgage and Unsecured Loan Defaults," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(5), pages 1271-1304, August.
    10. Dimuthu Ratnadiwakara, 2021. "Collateral Value and Strategic Default: Evidence from Auto Loans," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 59(3), pages 209-240, June.
    11. Martin Hauptfleisch, 2019. "Financial Decision-Making Using Data," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 6-2019.
    12. Balatti, Mirco & López-Quiles, Carolina, 2021. "Limited liability, strategic default and bargaining power," Working Paper Series 2519, European Central Bank.
    13. Ron Harris & Asher Meir, 2016. "Recourse Structure of Mortgages: A Comparison between the US and Europe," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(04), pages 15-22, February.
    14. Saengchote, Kanis & Samphantharak, Krislert, 2022. "Banking relationship and default priority in consumer credit: Evidence from Thai microdata," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    15. Ron Harris & Asher Meir, 2016. "Recourse Structure of Mortgages: A Comparison between the US and Europe," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(4), pages 15-22, 02.
    16. Sumit Agarwal & Xudong An & Lawrence R. Cordell & Raluca Roman, 2020. "Bank Stress Test Results and Their Impact on Consumer Credit Markets," Working Papers 20-30, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    17. Peter Ganong & Pascal J. Noel, 2020. "Why Do Borrowers Default on Mortgages? A New Method For Causal Attribution," Working Papers 2020-100, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    mortgage defaults; state foreclosure laws; consumer finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G1 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets
    • K10 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - General (Constitutional Law)

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