With the third quarter of 2010 now in the books let’s check in on the happenings in the Big Bear real estate market, shall we? There are currently 858 active residential listings in the Big Bear Valley (only six percent of those are bank-owned foreclosures.) There are 136 homes currently in escrow (30% of those are bank-owned), and of the 629 sold year-to-date, 37.6% were bank-owned. This points to the ever increasing competition for foreclosures in the Big Bear real estate market and I expect to see that continue into next year with gradually more inventory becoming available.

When looking at the numbers of residential sales from September of 2010 compared to September 2009, a few interesting trends come to light. Prior to August of this year, we had seen the number of closed transactions under $250K increase for nearly 12 months straight. This streak was broken in August when there were 28% less closings in this price range as compared to 2009 and in September there were 25% less.

What is interesting to note is that in the $250K to $500K price range, the closed sales edged up in August by 31% and in September by 28%. This price range had not seen two months in a row of increased sales in quite some time. So the demand seems to be spreading into the higher price ranges, which makes sense as the increased buying power that the current rock-bottom interest rates provide, along with the amazing values available, especially in the $325k-$425k market, are increasingly hard to ignore for those who have been looking to buy larger, three-bedroom homes, with a garage, etc…

What is also very interesting to note is that in August and September, average prices in the Big Bear real estate market were also up a solid 12% and 20% respectively compared to 2009. This, in part, is due to demand spreading into higher priced homes. However when looking at median prices instead of average prices, those too increased by 9% in August and 7.5% in September. Will the continued stabilization we have seen in the Big Bear real estate market lead to a continued upward trend in prices going forward? That remains to be seen but what is certain is that there are some amazing values on the market and interest rates are lower now than many thought imaginable, so if you would like to take the next step in fulfilling your dream of owning real estate in Big Bear, just let me know. I am happy to help and always look forward to hearing from you - All the best and happy hunting.