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Lessons Learned from Mortgage Borrower Policies and Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Abstract

This article evaluates how the most important policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic affected the US mortgage market. In particular, we consider the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020; the follow-on American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, which extended many of the provisions in the CARES Act; and the Federal Reserve's large-scale asset purchase (LSAP) program that was announced in March 2020. Our analysis considers both the aggregate effects and the distributional effects of these policies on mortgage borrowers. Overall, we find that pandemic-era forbearance worked very well in reducing foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies for all borrowers, better than the mortgage modification programs of the Great Recession, both because there were fewer restrictions and because the economic environment was so different. In contrast, while many borrowers benefited from the huge decline in mortgage rates caused, in part, by the LSAP program, Black and Hispanic borrowers were far less likely to benefit than White borrowers due to significantly slower refinancing speeds.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristopher Gerardi & Lauren Lambie-Hanson & Paul S. Willen, 2022. "Lessons Learned from Mortgage Borrower Policies and Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Policy Hub, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, vol. 2022(9), July.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:a00068:96686
    DOI: 10.29338/ph2022-09
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    1. Steffen Andersen & John Y. Campbell & Kasper Meisner Nielsen & Tarun Ramadorai, 2020. "Sources of Inaction in Household Finance: Evidence from the Danish Mortgage Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(10), pages 3184-3230, October.
    2. Andreas Fuster & Aurel Hizmo & Lauren Lambie-Hanson & James Vickery & Paul S. Willen, 2021. "How Resilient Is Mortgage Credit Supply? Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 28843, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Adelino, Manuel & Gerardi, Kristopher & Willen, Paul S., 2013. "Why don't Lenders renegotiate more home mortgages? Redefaults, self-cures and securitization," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 835-853.
    4. Elliot Anenberg & Tess C. Scharlemann, 2021. "The Effect of Mortgage Forbearance on House Prices During COVID-19," FEDS Notes 2021-03-19-2, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    5. Lisa J. Dettling & Lauren Lambie-Hanson, 2021. "Why is the Default Rate So Low? How Economic Conditions and Public Policies Have Shaped Mortgage and Auto Delinquencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic," FEDS Notes 2021-03-04-2, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    6. Christopher Mayer & Edward Morrison & Tomasz Piskorski & Arpit Gupta, 2014. "Mortgage Modification and Strategic Behavior: Evidence from a Legal Settlement with Countrywide," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2830-2857, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ferreira, Miguel A. & Adelino, Manuel & Oliveira, Miguel, 2025. "The heterogeneous effects of household debt relief," Working Paper Series 3034, European Central Bank.
    2. Justin C. Contat & William M. Doerner & Michael J. Seiler & Scott Weiner, 2024. "Individual Borrower Motivations Surrounding Mortgage Forbearance Take-up and Exit," FHFA Staff Working Papers 24-11, Federal Housing Finance Agency.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    mortgage refinancing; mortgage repayment; home equity; racial inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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