This article investigates the impact of ARM initial rate (teaser) discounts on mortgage choice and housing demand. Because
discounted ARM loans may reduce expected user costs, theoretical models predict a positive impact on housing expenditures.
To test the hypothesis, a simultaneous model of housing expenditures conditioned upon mortgage instrument choice is estimated
using a national sample of transactions for the 1986 to 1988 period. The results indicate that overall housing demand would
have been reduced by approximately 13 percent during the period in the absence of ARM loans.
Key words Initial rate discounts - User costs