The effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: Evidence from a randomized study

Homeownership education and counseling have never been rigorously evaluated through a randomized field experiment. This is a five-year study that addresses this shortcoming. The study is structured to respond to the concerns raised about previous efforts. We employ an . experimental design, with stu...

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Main Authors: Smith, M., Hochberg, D., Greene, William
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier BV 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51603
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author Smith, M.
Hochberg, D.
Greene, William
author_facet Smith, M.
Hochberg, D.
Greene, William
author_sort Smith, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Homeownership education and counseling have never been rigorously evaluated through a randomized field experiment. This is a five-year study that addresses this shortcoming. The study is structured to respond to the concerns raised about previous efforts. We employ an . experimental design, with study participants randomly assigned to a control or a treatment group. Participants completed a baseline survey and were tracked for four years after receiving initial assistance by means of an annual survey, which also tracks participants' life changes over time. To assist in the analysis, additional information in the form of credit reports and credit scores was obtained annually to track changes in the participants' creditworthiness. Also, certain safeguards were implemented to ensure consistency of the counseling. The study considers the influence of counseling on credit scores, total debt, and delinquencies in payments. We find that those in the treatment group benefit more relative to control participants. Moreover, both treatment participants with one-on-one counseling and control participants who became homeowners tended to pay their mortgages in a timely manner overall.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-516032017-09-13T16:09:32Z The effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: Evidence from a randomized study Smith, M. Hochberg, D. Greene, William Homeownership education and counseling have never been rigorously evaluated through a randomized field experiment. This is a five-year study that addresses this shortcoming. The study is structured to respond to the concerns raised about previous efforts. We employ an . experimental design, with study participants randomly assigned to a control or a treatment group. Participants completed a baseline survey and were tracked for four years after receiving initial assistance by means of an annual survey, which also tracks participants' life changes over time. To assist in the analysis, additional information in the form of credit reports and credit scores was obtained annually to track changes in the participants' creditworthiness. Also, certain safeguards were implemented to ensure consistency of the counseling. The study considers the influence of counseling on credit scores, total debt, and delinquencies in payments. We find that those in the treatment group benefit more relative to control participants. Moreover, both treatment participants with one-on-one counseling and control participants who became homeowners tended to pay their mortgages in a timely manner overall. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51603 10.1016/j.qref.2016.05.002 Elsevier BV restricted
spellingShingle Smith, M.
Hochberg, D.
Greene, William
The effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: Evidence from a randomized study
title The effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: Evidence from a randomized study
title_full The effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: Evidence from a randomized study
title_fullStr The effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: Evidence from a randomized study
title_full_unstemmed The effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: Evidence from a randomized study
title_short The effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: Evidence from a randomized study
title_sort effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counseling: evidence from a randomized study
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51603