Mortgage Finance in Central and Eastern Europe : Opportunity or Burden?

Beck, Thorsten ; Tiongson, Erwin ; Kibuuka, Katie

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO CREDIT;    ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES;    ACCESS TO MORTGAGE;    ADVANCED ECONOMIES;    AFFORDABILITY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5202
RP-ID  :  WPS5202

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Household credit, especially formortgages, has doubled over the past years in the newEuropean Union member countries, raising concerns about theeconomic and social consequences of household indebtednessin the event of a macroeconomic crisis. Using householdsurvey data for 2005, 2006, and 2007 for both old and newEuropean Union members, this paper assesses the determinantsof access to mortgage finance. It also examines whethermortgage holders were more likely to suffer financialdistress compared with non-mortgage holders in the periodbefore the global financial crisis. The analysis does notfind any systematic evidence that mortgage holders arefinancially more vulnerable than renters or outright owners;in fact, the incidence of financial vulnerability generallyfell between 2005 and 2007, possibly reflecting the strongincome growth experienced by these countries over thisperiod. In addition, although tenure status is moredifficult to explain in the new European Union membercountries, the analysis finds that many of the same driversof tenure status in the older member countries generallydrive tenure status in the newer member countries as well.Finally, there is no evidence that access to mortgage creditis based on expected income in the old or in the newEuropean Union member countries.