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Possible income misstatement on mortgage loan applications: Evidence from the Canadian housing market

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  • Kiana Basiri
  • Babak Mahmoudi

Abstract

We construct a measure of possible income misstatement (PIM) for first‐time homebuyers by quantifying the gap between growth in incomes reported on mortgage applications and growth in incomes reported on tax files from 2004 to 2014 in Canada. Using a two‐stage least square framework to correct for the endogenous nature of house prices and PIM, we find robust evidence that part of the observed dispersion in PIM is caused by house price variation. This suggests borrowers have greater incentive to misstate income in high‐priced markets. We report evidence that markets with a tendency for income misstatement also had higher default rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Kiana Basiri & Babak Mahmoudi, 2021. "Possible income misstatement on mortgage loan applications: Evidence from the Canadian housing market," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(3), pages 917-935, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:reesec:v:49:y:2021:i:3:p:917-935
    DOI: 10.1111/1540-6229.12310
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Atif Mian & Amir Sufi, 2017. "Fraudulent Income Overstatement on Mortgage Applications During the Credit Expansion of 2002 to 2005," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(6), pages 1832-1864.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
    • R28 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Government Policy

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