Big Bear Real Estate: Interesting Times Indeed

These are interesting times indeed for the Big Bear real estate market. There certainly has been no shortage of astounding developments of late, many of which will directly or indirectly affect Big Bear real estate. My last blog post highlighted the effects of an increase in interest rates for a buyer in this market. Unfortunately, this scenario played out shortly after we published when the 30-year fixed rate jumped close to 7%. That increase has proven so far to be a temporary blip and rates are now back down around 6%, but the likelihood they will remain at these historically low levels for the foreseeable future is unlikely. (Take a look back at my last blog post regarding the effects of a 1% increase in rates on a buyer’s purchasing power and cash flow to review.) Locking in a rate of around 6% on a great piece of Big Bear real estate at today’s deeply discounted prices is an amazing opportunity and I hope many interested buyers will take advantage of it.

Let's get caught up on the latest in the Big Bear real estate market shall we? The trend of lower-priced homes selling briskly continued through September and is holding into October. In September of 2008 as compared to 2007, there was a 145% increase in closed sales under $250k. That trend started, and I began writing about it, back in June with a 121% increase from the year prior.


As mentioned before the first sign of a market in recovery mode is a dramatic increase in transactions. While clearly the case for homes sold under $250K, this has not been the case in the higher price ranges of Big Bear real estate. In fact, properties priced over the $500k mark have not seen very much interest. This would indicate that homes in the mid to upper price ranges will continue to experience downward pressure on prices in order to meet demand or, as has been the case so far, not many will actually sell.

There are currently 1,108 residential listing on the market. The inventory has actually decreased quite a bit from its high and has been holding rather steady. There are currently 118 homes in escrow. Some interesting notes: Of the 118 homes in escrow, 67 are listed under $250k, 53 are either bank-owned (32) or short sales (21) and 65 are resale (55) or new construction (10). Bank-owned properties are receiving an increasing amount of buyer attention as many are being priced well under the other current competition. I have a Preferred Buyer Program that is set up to provide info on these foreclosures and other incredible deals in the Big Bear real estate market, many times well before these homes actually hit the market. Just let me know if you would like to take part in that.

For the latest information, visit my Big Bear Real Estate website or give me a call at (909) 435-5155. I am always happy to hear from you.

Homes In Escrow: October 2008
By Listing Price By Home Category