National Survey of Mortgage Originations

Robert B. Avery
Federal Housing Finance Agency

Ron Borzekowski
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Housing Finance Agency or any other agency of the U.S. Government.

In 2012, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) began work on the National Mortgage Database (NMDB®) and a new quarterly mail survey called the National Survey of Mortgage Originations (NSMO) associated with it. In November 2018, the two agencies released a public use file covering the first 4 years (2013–2016) of mortgage originations in NSMO.1 The public use file contains survey responses and key administrative data obtained from other sources. The availability of matched administrative and survey data offers researchers and policymakers a unique view of the U.S. mortgage market, arguably one of the most critical markets in the U.S. economy.