Real Estate & Planning Research Seminar by Prof Brent W. Ambrose, Pennsylvania State University "Title: Credit Market Spillover Effects to the Real Economy: Evidence from Rental Housing Evictions"

If you are interested in attending this Seminar please contact our Department School Office at repschooloffice@reading.ac.uk

Abstract:

We present novel evidence showing how the financing choice of landlords impacts eviction decisions in rental markets. Since multifamily loans rely on timely rental payments, strict underwriting factors can increase the chances that landlords withstand income shocks. Lender provided relief may further create leeway for landlords to work with tenants who default on rent. Using data on U.S. evictions and commercial multifamily mortgages, we document a negative relation between evictions and debt financing by the government-sponsored enterprises, which impose strict underwriting criteria but offer borrowers relief during unprecedented income shocks. We also quantify eviction risks induced by the COVID-19 pandemic for select cities.

Bio:

Brent W. Ambrose is the Jason and Julie Borrelli Faculty Chair in Real Estate and Professor, Director of the Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies, and Director of the Smeal College Ph.D. Program at the Pennsylvania State University Smeal College of Business. Prior to joining Penn State, he held faculty appointments at the University of Kentucky, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was a Visiting Associate Professor and Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business from 1997 to 1998, and a Visiting Economist with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1991.

In 2010, Dr. Ambrose was elected President of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA). In 2016, he received AREUEA’s George Bloom Award for outstanding contributions to the field of real estate academics. He is the Associate Dean and Fellow of the Weimer School of Advanced Studies in Real Estate and Land Economics at the Hoyt Institute, a Fellow of the Real Estate Research Institute, and in 2006 was appointed a Fellow of the FDIC Center for Financial Research. Dr. Ambrose is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics and was co-editor of Real Estate Economics from 2015 to 2020. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Real Estate Research Institute.

He has published over 85 refereed articles in the fields of real estate and finance. His work appears in The Journal of Finance, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Review of Financial Studies, The Journal of Money Credit and Banking, The Journal of Financial Intermediation, The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Financial Management, Financial Analysts Journal, Real Estate Economics, Review of Finance, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Macroeconomics, and Journal of Housing Economics. He also co-edited Household Credit Usage: Personal Debt and Mortgages, published by Palgrave/MacMillian. According to Google Scholar, his work has generated over 6,000 citations^1 and Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) places him in the top fifth percentile for economic research impact and productivity.^2

Dr. Ambrose specializes in real estate finance, corporate finance, and fixed income security analysis. His research interests include issues related to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), loss mitigation programs associated with mortgage default and foreclosure, Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), fixed-income securities, and consumer credit contracts. He has consulted with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Congressional Budget Office on several occasions regarding issues concerning FHA mortgage default and foreclosure, economically targeted assets, privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the GSEs’ affordable housing goals. He holds a Ph.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Georgia and a B.S. in Business from Wake Forest University.