Guest Editor’s Introduction to the Special Issue

By Michael LaCour-Little

Abstract:

More than thirty years has passed since enactment of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), legislation that has continued to generate controversy over the years, even as its scope, coverage, and level of reporting detail have evolved. In this Special Issue of the Journal of Real Estate Research we consider a number of topics related to HMDA, including its recent history, appropriate uses and limitations of the data, the effect of the economic environment (including the
yield curve) on recent reporting patterns, what can be learned about pricing disparities when additional data elements are appended, and how various measures of aggregate mortgage market activity compare to those that may be calculated from HMDA. Our overall objective is to inform JRER readers on these important topics, provide policymakers with the best scientifically-grounded research currently available, and stimulate thinking within the academic community about questions that can be addressed using HMDA data.