Contemporaneous Loan Stress and Termination Risk in the CMBS Pool: How "Ruthless" Is Default?

This study analyzes the impact of contemporaneous loan stress on the termination of loans in the commercial mortgage-backed securities pool from 1992 to 2004 using a novel measure, based on changes in net operating incomes and property values at the metropolitan statistical area-property-type-year l...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Seslen, Tracey, Wheaton, William C.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Real Estate
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/64730
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2962-8259
Description
Summary:This study analyzes the impact of contemporaneous loan stress on the termination of loans in the commercial mortgage-backed securities pool from 1992 to 2004 using a novel measure, based on changes in net operating incomes and property values at the metropolitan statistical area-property-type-year level. Employing a semi-parametric competing risks model for a variety of specifications, we find that the probability of default is extremely low even at very high levels of stress, although the coefficient estimates of greatest interest are very statistically significant. These results suggest substantial lender forbearance and are consistent with previous research that models default as a “gradual dynamic process” rather than a “ruthless” exercise once “in the money.”