Home Prices on Low-End Growing the Fastest

Home prices in the U.S. housing market has seen some major gains over the last few years, but you will be surprised to know that much of this growth is stemming from homes that are priced 75 percent or less of the median home price.

CoreLogic's MarketPulse Report found that low-end home prices are appreciating that fastest. Nationally, home prices are up 6.3 percent year-over-year as of November 2015 and 0.5 percent month-over-month, according to CoreLogic's Home Price Index Report. Although the HPI has increased year-over-year every month since 2012, prices are still 7.3 percent below the peak in April 2006.

The largest home price gain was recorded in Colorado for the 10th consecutive month, with a 10.4 percent year-over-year increase. Washington (10.2 percent) and Oregon (9 percent) had the second and third largest yearly home price gains.

The states of Mississippi, Louisiana, and New Mexico showed negative home price appreciation at -3 percent, -1.6 percent, and -0.7 percent, the report found.

According to CoreLogic, Nevada's home prices are the furthest away from their all-time high, down 30.1 percent from the March 2006 peak.

CoreLogic also reviewed four home-price tiers:  the low-end tier consists of homes prices at 75 percent or less of the median, the low-to-middle tier consists of homes prices between 75 and 100 percent of the median, the middle-to-moderate tier are homes price between 100 and 125 percent of the median, and the high-price tier are homes priced higher than 125 percent of the median.

The MarketPulse report showed that the low-end tier is leading home price gains, rising 8.2 percent year-over-year in November 2015 and 8.4 percent for the entire year. This tier has also recovered 48.8 percent since its all-time low in March 2009, and is the only segment to pass its pre-crisis peak.

The low-to-middle tier has recovered 43.3 percent from its low point in March 2011 and grew 7.2 year-over-year, but it is still 8.9 from its peak, CoreLogic found. the middle-to-moderate tier rose 5.6 percent year-over-year, but is 8.2 percent from its peak. Lastly, the high-price tier rose 5.4 percent year-over-year, but is still 5.5 percent from its peak.

Click here to read the full report.