Reassessing the magnitude of housing price declines and the use of leverage in the Depressions of the 1890s and 1930s
构建了美国巴尔的摩市1880-1953年首个重复销售房价指数，发现1890年代和1930年代大萧条期间房价跌幅比以往数据更大，且进入萧条前的杠杆率更高，表明1930年代负资产问题比现有数据显示的更严重，从而解释了当时的高止赎率。
Abstract This paper presents the first repeat sales index for residential housing in any U.S. city spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries, covering Baltimore from 1880 to 1953. Compared to previous data, the index shows larger declines in housing prices during the Depressions of the 1890s and 1930s. I also find higher leverage entering into those periods than previously understood. I conclude that negative equity in the 1930s was a bigger problem than implied by existing data, rationalizing the extent of foreclosures that occurred.