For immediate release: Feb. 22, 2010
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta today introduced Real Estate Research, a blog that provides analysis of topical research and current issues in the fields of housing and real estate economics.
Real Estate Research can be found on the Atlanta Fed's Web site www.frbatlanta.org and will feature postings from Atlanta Fed economist Kris Gerardi and Boston Fed economists Christopher Foote and Paul Willen. The blog will analyze current research and give the authors whose work is analyzed the opportunity to respond.
"The crisis in the housing market that started in 2007 has generated an enormous amount of research both inside and outside academia. The Real Estate Research blog provides an outlet to evaluate the body of this literature and offer insight into the topics that are being debated and considered as the real estate market continues to evolve," said Kris Gerardi, a research economist and assistant policy adviser in the Atlanta Fed's research department.
New postings to Real Estate Research will appear approximately biweekly. The first posting evaluates recent research arguing that the inability of lenders to pursue borrowers for unpaid mortgage debts played a major role in the crisis. The post focuses on a recent paper titled "Recourse and Residential Mortgage Default: Theory and Evidence from U.S. States," by Andra Ghent of Baruch College and Marianna Kudlyak of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous commercial banks and provides a variety of financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government.