Autonomous and Financial Mortgage Prepayment

Using individual data from Freddie Mac's portfolio of conventional mortgages, this paper estimates prepayment probabilities as a function of characteristics pertaining to the borrower, the loan, regional, and economic variables. Distinction is made between induced and autonomous prepayments. Based on the curvature of the underlying termination pattern, nonparametric methods are derived to estimate the prepayment probabilities and to predict a mortgage life under various scenarios. The findings point to a response asymmetry with respect to the level and trend of interest rates. Non-interest effects reveal the significance of the borrower's characteristics, property age, and regional mobility rates on mortgage termination.