Home Price Tier Recovery Disparity Remains: Black Knight

There remains a clear difference in the housing recovery among home price tiers, according to the November Mortgage Monitor from Black Knight Financial Services.

Among the 10 hardest-hit markets where property values are furthest from their pre-crisis peaks, homes in the bottom 20% value tier are lagging behind in terms of home price appreciation compared to housing units with higher values.

For example, in California, properties within the top 20% price tier are now just over 3% behind their pre-crisis peaks, while the lowest 20% are still 32% off those peaks, Black Knight's report revealed.

Nevada is another state that has seen a similar trend for home prices. In the Silver State, which is 39% off its pre-crisis home value peak, properties in the lowest-pricing tier are approximately 47% off their all-time highs. Meanwhile, the difference for those in the highest tier is 36% less than their peak.

Other states that experienced this type of activity include Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island, Maryland, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey and Michigan.

"These disparities between price tiers can be attributed to the fact that during the bubble, lower-tier properties appreciated at much higher rates than higher-valued properties and likewise fell harder and further when the bubble broke," said Trey Barnes, senior vice president of loan data products at Black Knight Financial Services.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based analytic firm also looked at loan modification distribution in the November report. The company found that modifications performed under the government's Home Affordable Modification Program accounted for over 50% of total activity for the year, with nearly 70% shifting to FHA/VA mortgages. A year ago, FHA/VA loan modifications consisted of 16% of overall activity.

Since HAMP launched in 2009, modifications have included greater monthly payment reductions than proprietary modifications. As the majority of HAMP modifications have shifted to FHA/VA loans — with lower unpaid balances and initial month payments — average payment change dollar amounts have decreased, Black Knight said.

Additionally, although HAMP modifications have lower redefault rates than proprietary modifications across all vintages, Black Knight sees that 2014 HAMP modifications are redefaulting at a higher rate than either of the previous two years.