Christopher Mayer
- Paul Milstein Professor Emeritus of Real Estate
- Finance Division
- Areas of Expertise
- Real Estate
- Contact
- Office: 721 Kravis
- Phone: (212) 8544221
- E-mail: [email protected]
Christopher Mayer is the Paul Milstein Professor Emeritus of Real Estate at Columbia Business School. His research explores a variety of topics in real estate and financial markets, including housing cycles, mortgage markets, debt securitization, and commercial real estate valuation. Dr. Mayer is also CEO of Longbridge Financial, an innovative reverse mortgage company focused on delivering responsible home equity products to older Americans to help finance retirement. Professor Mayer serves as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Director of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, and a member of the Academic Advisory Boards for Standard and Poor's and the Housing Policy Center at the Urban Institute. His research has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Dr. Mayer is active in the media and advising policymakers, testifying six times before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, writing a paper for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, and authoring numerous op-ed articles in major publications. Dr. Mayer previously served as Senior Vice Dean at Columbia Business School and held positions at The Wharton School, the University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He earned a BS in Math and Economics from the University of Rochester with highest honors and a PhD in Economics from MIT.
- Education
-
BS, University of Rochester, 1987; PhD, MIT, 1993
- Joined CBS
- 2003
All Activities
Journal Article
.
“Global Risk Premiums on Direct Office Real Estate Returns.”
(October 01, 2021).
Journal Article
Chinco, Alex and
Christopher Mayer
.
“Misinformed Speculators and Mispricing in the Housing Market.”
Review of Financial Studies
vol.
29
,
(January 01, 2016):
486
-522
.
Journal Article
.
“Mortgage Modification and Strategic Behavior: Evidence from a Legal Settlement with Countrywide.”
American Economic Review
vol.
104
,
(September 01, 2014):
2830
-2857
.
Journal Article
.
“The Inefficiency of Refinancing: Why Prepayment Penalties Are Good for Risky Borrowers.”
Journal of Financial Economics
vol.
107
,
(March 01, 2013):
694
-714
.
Journal Article
.
“Superstar Cities.”
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol.
5
,
(January 01, 2013):
167
-199
.
Journal Article
.
“Housing Bubbles: A Survey.”
Annual Review of Economics
vol.
3
,
(January 01, 2011):
559
-577
.
Journal Article
.
“Issuer Credit Quality and the Price of Asset-Backed Securities.”
The American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings
vol.
100
,
(May 01, 2010):
501
-505
.
Journal Article
.
“Irreversible Investment, Real Options, and Competition: Evidence from Real Estate Development.”
Journal of Urban Economics
vol.
65
,
(June 01, 2009):
237
-51
.
Journal Article
Hilber, Christian and
Christopher Mayer
.
“Why Do Households Without Children Support Local Public Schools? Linking House Price Capitalization to School Spending.”
Journal of Urban Economics
vol.
65
,
(January 01, 2009):
74
-90
.
Journal Article
.
“The Rise in Mortgage Defaults.”
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol.
23
,
(January 01, 2009):
27
-50
.
Journal Article
.
“Essay: A New Proposal for Loan Modifications.”
Yale Journal on Regulation
vol.
26
,
(January 01, 2009):
417
-429
.
Journal Article
.
“The Mortgage Market Meltdown and House Prices.”
The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy
vol.
9
,
(January 01, 2009):
Article 8
.
Journal Article
Mayer, Christopher and Todd Sinai
.
“Assessing High House Prices: Bubbles, Fundamentals, and Misperceptions.”
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol.
19
,
(January 01, 2005):
67
-92
.
Journal Article
Mayer, Christopher and Todd Sinai
.
“Network Effects, Congestion Externalities, and Air Traffic Delays: Or Why Not All Delays Are Created Evil.”
American Economic Review
vol.
93
,
(September 01, 2003):
1194
-1215
.
Journal Article
Bui, Linda and
Christopher Mayer
.
“Regulation and Capitalization of Environmental Amenities: Evidence From the Toxic Release Inventory in Massachusetts.”
Review of Economics and Statistics
vol.
85
,
(August 01, 2003):
693
-708
.
Journal Article
Mayer, Christopher and C. Somerville
.
“Government Regulation and Changes in the Affordable Housing Stock.”
Economic Policy Review
vol.
9
,
(June 01, 2003):
45
-62
.
Journal Article
.
“Dividend Taxes and Share Prices: Evidence from Real Estate Investment Trusts.”
Journal of Finance
vol.
58
,
(January 01, 2003):
261
-82
.
Journal Article
Genesove, David and
Christopher Mayer
.
“Loss Aversion and Seller Behavior: Evidence from the Housing Market.”
Quarterly Journal of Economics
vol.
116
,
(January 01, 2002):
1233
-60
.
Journal Article
.
“Property Tax Limits, Local Fiscal Behavior, and Property Values: Evidence from Massachusetts Under Proposition 2 1/2.”
Journal of Public Economics
vol.
80
,
(May 01, 2001):
287
-311
.
Journal Article
Mayer, Christopher and C. Somerville
.
“Land Use Regulation and New Construction.”
Regional Science and Urban Economics
vol.
30
,
(December 01, 2000):
639
-62
.
Journal Article
Mayer, Christopher and C. Somerville
.
“Residential Construction: Using the Urban Growth Model to Estimate Housing Supply.”
Journal of Urban Economics
vol.
48
,
(July 01, 2000):
85
-109
.
Journal Article
Engelhardt, Gary and
Christopher Mayer
.
“Intergenerational Transfers, Borrowing Constraints, and Saving Behavior: Evidence from the Housing Market.”
Journal of Urban Economics
vol.
44
,
(July 01, 1998):
135
-57
.
Journal Article
.
“Assessing the Performance of Real Estate Auctions.”
Real Estate Economics
vol.
26
,
(January 01, 1998):
41
-66
.
Journal Article
Genesove, David and
Christopher Mayer
.
“Equity and Time to Sale in the Real Estate Market.”
American Economic Review
vol.
87
,
(June 01, 1997):
255
-69
.
Journal Article
Mayer, Christopher and Katerina Simons
.
“Reverse Mortgages and the Liquidity of Housing Wealth.”
AREUEA Journal
vol.
22
,
(January 01, 1994):
235
-55
.
Working Paper
Faltin-Traeger, Oliver and
Christopher Mayer
.
Lemons and CDOs: Why Did So Many Lenders Issue Poorly Performing CDOs? May 01, 2012.
Working Paper
.
A New Look at Second Liens. January 01, 2012.
Working Paper
.
Sponsor Risk and the Performance of Asset-backed Securities. June 01, 2011.
Working Paper
.
Private Information and Market Making in Secondary Mortgage Markets. December 15, 2010.
Working Paper
.
Rating Asset-Backed Securities. December 15, 2010.
Working Paper
Mayer, Christopher and Yingjin Hila Gan
.
Agency Conflicts, Asset Substitution, and Securitization. June 11, 2007.
Working Paper
.
Irreversible Investment, Real Options, and Competition: Evidence From Real-Estate Development. August 01, 2006.
Working Paper
Hilber, Christian and
Christopher Mayer
.
Why Do Households Without Children Support Local Public Schools? Linking House Price Capitalization to School Spending. August 01, 2006.
Working Paper
.
What Can We Learn About the Sensitivity of Investment to Stock Prices with a Better Measure of Tobin's q? May 01, 2006.
Working Paper
Mayer, Christopher and Todd Sinai
.
Why Do Airlines Schedule Their Flights to Systematically Arrive Late? May 01, 2003.
Working Paper
.
The Effects of Share Prices Relative to Fundamental Value on Stock Issuances and Repurchases. January 01, 2003.
Newspaper/Magazine Article
.
“What Can We Learn about the Sensitivity of Investment to Stock Prices with a Better Measure of Tobin's q?”
Journal of Money, Credit and Banking
.
Forthcoming.
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Mayer, Christopher and Todd Sinai
.
“Bubble Trouble? Not Likely.”
Hermes
.
January 01, 2005.
Chapter
.
“Housing, Mortgages, and Retirement.”
In
Evidence and Innovation in Housing Law and Policy
,
edited by Lee Fennell and Benjamin Keys
,
New York
:
Cambridge University Press
,
Forthcoming.
Chapter
Ang, Andrew,
Ann Bartel
,
Patrick Bolton
,
Wouter Dessein
,
Franklin Edwards
,
Lawrence Glosten
,
Geoffrey Heal
,
Gur Huberman
,
Charles Jones
,
Christopher Mayer
,
Frederic Mishkin
,
Eli Noam
,
Andrea Prat
,
Jonah Rockoff
,
Lynne Sagalyn
,
Stephen Zeldes
, and Brian Thomas
.
“1. Finance and Economics.”
In Columbia Business School
,
1
-28
.
Columbia University Press
,
2016.
Chapter
.
“Dispersion in House Price and Income Growth Across Markets: Facts and Theories.”
In
Agglomeration Economics
,
edited by Edward Glaeser
,
67
-104
.
Chicago, IL
:
University of Chicago Press
,
2010.
Chapter
Mayer, Christopher and Karen Pence
.
“Subprime Mortgages: What, Where, and to Whom?”
In Housing Markets and the Economy: Risk, Regulation, and Policy: Essays in honor of Karl E. Case
,
Cambridge
:
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
,
2009.
Chapter
.
“Subprime Mortgage Pricing: The Impact of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender on the Cost of Borrowing.”
In
Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs 2009
,
edited by Gary Burtless and Janet Rothenberg Pack
,
33
-63
.
Washington DC
:
Brookings
,
2009.
Chapter
Mayer, Christopher and Todd Sinai
.
“U.S. House Price Dynamics and Behavioral Economics.”
In Policymaking Insights on Behavioral Economics
,
edited by Christopher L. Foote, Lorenz Goette, and Stephan Meier
,
261
-95
.
Boston, MA
:
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
,
2007.
Course
B7331: Real Estate Finance
Course
B7493: Real Estate as an Asset and a Business
Case Study
.
The 2/28 Mortgage: When Business and Psychology Intersect in a New Consumer Product.
New York, NY
:
CaseWorks
,
2011.
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
In the Media
Article
Home Prices Are Defying Expectations as Interest Rates Climb — Here’s Why
Article
Home Prices Are Defying Expectations as Interest Rates Climb — Here's Why
Article
2016 Real Estate Symposium Panel Report: The Future of Investing in Cities
Article
Researchers Recommend Accelerated Amortization Options for Underwater Homeowners
Article
Business School Participates in Innovation Competition
Article
Where are house prices headed?
- Case ID
- 110302
The 2-28 Mortgage: When Business and Psychology Intersect in a New Consumer Product
What does consumer psychology tell lenders about the risks of an infamous type of subprime mortgage?
- Case ID
- 110301
Minerve: Evaluating the Issuance of a New CDO
Should the head of a Wall Street firm launch a potentially risky CDO at a client's request, or lose out to competitors who would be eager to do the deal?