Do Women Pay More for Mortgages? Article

Cheng, P, Lin, Z, Liu, Y. (2011). Do Women Pay More for Mortgages? . JOURNAL OF REAL ESTATE FINANCE AND ECONOMICS, 43(4), 423-440. 10.1007/s11146-009-9214-y

cited authors

  • Cheng, P; Lin, Z; Liu, Y

authors

abstract

  • This paper documents women on average pay more for mortgages than men. The disparity cannot be fully explained by traditional variables such as mortgage features, borrower characteristics, and market conditions. While the persistence of gender disparity may suggest discrimination, we offer a different explanation: women pay higher rates because they are more likely to choose lenders by recommendation while men tend to search for the lowest rate. Our empirical test confirms that search effort is rewarded in marketplace, and suggests that gender disparity in mortgage rates may be addressed by policies aimed at improving women's financial literacy and search skills. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

publication date

  • November 1, 2011

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 423

end page

  • 440

volume

  • 43

issue

  • 4