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  • 2020
  • Working Paper

Did Technology Contribute to the Housing Boom? Evidence from MERS

By: Emily Williams and Stefan Lewellen
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
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Abstract

We examine the effects of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS, on mortgage origination volumes and foreclosure rates prior to the Great Recession. MERS was introduced in the late 1990s and significantly reduced the cost and time associated with secondary loan sales. Using novel data from the Massachusetts Registry of Deeds, we show that the introduction of MERS led to an expansion in credit supply that was primarily fueled by non-bank lenders originating loans to low-income borrowers. We also find that foreclosure rates were higher on these loans. Our paper provides a new explanation for why credit supply increased prior to the 2008 financial crisis and why supply increases were larger in low-income areas. (Conditionally accepted at the Journal of Financial Economics)

Keywords

Mortgages; Credit; Expansion; Technology; Outcome or Result

Citation

Williams, Emily, and Stefan Lewellen. "Did Technology Contribute to the Housing Boom? Evidence from MERS." Working Paper, February 2020.
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About The Author

Emily Williams

Finance
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • In the Red: Overdrafts, Payday Lending and the Underbanked By: Marco Di Maggio, Angela Ma and Emily Williams
  • Costly External Financing and Monetary Policy Transmission: Evidence from a Natural Experiment By: Emily Williams
  • Heterogeneity in Net-Interest Income Exposure to Interest Rate Risk and Non-Interest Expense Adjustment By: Emily Williams
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