What are "mortgage deserts"?

Sharon Cornelissen, Director of Housing at the Consumer Federation of America, coined the term “mortgage desert” in a recent research report. It refers to the 10% of counties in the U.S. where the smallest portion of homes are bought using mortgages.

Being a mortgage desert doesn’t mean that homes aren’t being bought or sold — counties where institutional real estate investors buy lots of homes in cash can mean mortgages become scarce. Mortgage deserts are also likely to crop up in areas where home values are low, and lenders are less likely to put in the work to originate small-dollar mortgages.

“It means that local homeownership opportunities go down, and less wealth is being built locally in a community,” Cornelissen said.

“Marketplace” host Amy Scott spoke with Cornelissen about her research on mortgage deserts.

To listen to their conversation, use the audio player above.