A cost-benefit analysis of judicial foreclosure delay and a preliminary look at new mortgage servicing rules

Foreclosure timelines have lengthened dramatically since the start of the financial crisis, particularly in states that require judicial review to complete a foreclosure, but also recently in nonjudicial states. Our analysis synthesizes findings from several lines of research, updates results, and presents new analysis to examine the costs and benefits of judicial foreclosure review. Consistent with previous studies, we find that judicial review imposes large costs with few, if any, offsetting benefits. We also provide early analysis of the new mortgage servicing rules enacted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and find that these rules are contributing to even longer timelines, especially in nonjudicial states. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.