Mortgage refinancing - includes appendix on consumer attitude survey

Federal Reserve Bulletin, August, 1990 by Glenn B. Canner, Charles A. Luckett, Thomas A. Durkin

APPENDIX: SURVEY OF CONSUMER ATTITUDES

To obtain information on the prevalence of residential mortgage refinancings by homeowners and the extent to which refinancings are used to liquidize accumulated equity, the Federal Reserved Board sponsored questions that were included in the Survey of Consumer Attitudes for the months of June, July, and September 1989. The Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan conducted by telephone, with telephone numbers chosen from a cluster sample of residential numbers. The sample was chosen to be broadly representative of the four main regions--Northeast, North Central, South, and West--in proportion to their populations (Alaska and Hawaii were not included). For each telephone number drawn, an adult from the family was randomly selected as the respondent. The survey defines the family as any group of persons living together who are related by marriage, blood, or adoption, and any individual living alone or with persons to whom the individual is not related.

Together the surveys sampled 1,514 families, 1,050 of whom were homeowners. Among the homeowners, roughly 54 percent had an outstanding mortgage or land contract. Overall, 114 homeowners reported that their outstanding first mortgage was a refinanced loan. The survey data have been weighted to be representative of the population, thereby correcting for differences among families in the probability of their being selected as survey respondents. All statistics in the tables are based on weighted observations. Estimates of population characteristics derived from samples are subject to errors based on the degree to which the sample differs from the general population. Table A.1 indicates the sampling errors for proportions derived from samples of different sizes. [Tabular Data 1 to 8 Omitted] [Chart 1 Omitted]