The Value of Mortgage Assumptions: An Empirical Test

Abstract

This study provides an empirical test of the two main techniques for calculating the financing premium for assumption financed sales, cash equivalence adjustment (CEA) and financed-fee valuation adjustment (FFVA). The results indicate that both the CEA and FFVA computational techniques overvalue the premium associated with assumption financing. A variation of the empirical test is considered that differentiates this study from previous studies. This variation allows for a test of the hypothesis that the proportion of the financing premium capitalized into the sales price is a function of the loan-to-price ratio. It is concluded that this hypothesis cannot be rejected.