FHA/VA Financing and Price Discounts

Paul K. Asabere () and Forrest Huffman ()
Additional contact information
Paul K. Asabere: Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122
Forrest Huffman: Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122

Journal of Real Estate Research, 2008, vol. 30, issue 2, 191-206

Abstract: This study examines the effects of FHA and VA mortgage financing on home prices. FHA and VA borrowers receive higher loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) and payment to income (PTIs) ratios relative to conventional underwriting standards. These more lenient standards are offset by the payment of additional financing costs in the form of default insurance premiums and origination fees. The hypothesis for this study is that the origination fees (in the form of insurance premiums and the funding fees) associated with FHA and VA financing will (1) be capitalized into buyer reservation values and (2) result in price discounts relative to conventional loans with lower LVRs. Using a database of nearly 9,000 homes sales in the San Antonio, TX area, we perform hedonic analyses that indicate that both types of government backed financing are associated with reductions in selling prices. The results of this study may imply a cost shifting behavior on the part of buyers and an implicit subsidy on the part of sellers. Our preferred regressions find that the price discounts for FHA underwriting are about 4% (3.81% to 4.14%) relative to conventional financing. VA discounts, as expected, are smaller, ranging from about 2% to 3.46%. Given the prior literature, we hypothesize that the results are likely a result of the fact that FHA and VA homebuyers are able to shift some costs to sellers.

JEL-codes: L85 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://pages.jh.edu/jrer/papers/pdf/past/vol30n02/03.191_206.pdf Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jre:issued:v:30:n:2:2008:p:191-206

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
Diane Quarles American Real Estate Society Manager of Member Services Clemson University Box 341323 Clemson, SC 29634-1323
http://pages.jh.edu/jrer/about/get.htm

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Real Estate Research is currently edited by Dr. Ko Wang

More articles in Journal of Real Estate Research from American Real Estate Society American Real Estate Society Clemson University School of Business & Behavioral Science Department of Finance 401 Sirrine Hall Clemson, SC 29634-1323.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by JRER Graduate Assistant/Webmaster ().