Tag Archives: National Bureau of Economic Research

In December 2016, then incoming Treasury Secretary Mnuchin boldly stated the Trump administration would employ the “largest tax change since Reagan.” However, that change could come with significant adjustments to the mortgage interest deduction, something that sparks mixed emotions across the country.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER’s) new working paper “Why Do Cities Matter? Local Growth and Aggregate Growth”, high-productivity markets are not the main contributors to economic growth due to limited housing affordability options.

Houses lose out on big money when they fail to take advantage of low interests and refinance. For example, a household with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of $200,000 at an interest rate of 6.5 percent that refinances when rates fall to 4.5 percent will save over $80,000 in interest payments over the life of the loan, even after including all the typical refinancing costs. Mortgage rates were around 4.7 percent in December 2010, higher than the current rate of 3.5 percent. Still, many homes fail to refinance.