The Home Purchase Mortgage Preferences of Low- and Moderate-Income Households

Housing policy in the United States has long supported homeownership, yet variation persists across income groups. This article employs recent mortgage origination data to focus on the revealed preferences of low- and moderate-income (LMI) households in home purchase mortgage choice. I identify the factors associated with conventional conforming, FHA, nonprime and specially targeted programs. Empirical results show that individual credit characteristics and financial factors, including pricing, generally drive product choice, with some variation evident when loans are originated through brokers. Results also indicate that targeted conventional programs effectively compete with government-insured products in the LMI segment.