In fact, the dataset used in our paper is the first one that contains market prices of Spanish properties for a large sample of dwellings, and also the first paper using loan-level data with loan principal and prices.
Mr. Obama's plan emphasizes making it easier to convert subprime loans to fixed-rate, 30-year loans, while requiring that borrowers have access to better data on loan costs and requiring greater scrutiny of lenders.
But the comptroller's office also said that amid the gloom, there was promising data about loan modifications: they rose 55percentt in the quarter.
According to LendingTree's data from loan rates available from its network of lenders, the rate for a $417,000 conforming 30-year fixed mortgage with certain lock terms (a 30-day forward rate lock) was recently 4.89 percent.
The quarterly rankings, which combine survey results with data on loan defaults, are closely watched by Wall Street and others, as they determine how much new business the Education Department will send annually to loan servicers such as Sallie Mae.
Barr says that however good the data, making loans to finance a qualification is inherently risky because there is no physical collateral.
"Every piece of material data about loans held by Fannie Mae was known to the United States government and to the investing public," said Mr. Mudd.
Before attempting college at all, students should "critically evaluate the data: student-loan debt, return on investment, lifetime salary earnings, academic performance, skills training... and so on".
The rules also pushed back the penalties to 2015 from 2012, while requiring schools to disclose more data about loans, defaults and job placement.
