Hello from Big Bear! Thanks for checking in with me on the Big Bear real estate market. No one was skiing in shorts on St. Patrick’s Day this year. Over two feet of new snow has fallen in the last few days, extending the winter ski season into spring. All this new snow doesn’t make it easy for potential buyers to come up and look for homes to buy, but, so far this year, we are seeing an increase in activity across the board as compared to 2011.

There are currently 549 active residential homes listed for sale in Big Bear and 116 currently in escrow, leading to a brisk absorption rate of 21%, and only 4.7 months of inventory currently available. ...continue reading →

Thanks for checking in with me on the state of affairs in the Big Bear real estate market. Let’s get caught up on the current market:

When looking at the entire Big Bear Valley in January of this year compared to 2011, a couple numbers jump out: The year started out with a very strong month: overall, the average residential sales price increased 9.3% with the bulk of that increase coming from areas of Big Bear City (up 17.9%) and Sugarloaf (up 16.9%). However, we also saw the average sales price decline in Moonridge (off 25%) and Big Bear Lake proper (off 7.7%.) ...continue reading →

Last year was another white knuckle ride for those looking to buy or sell real estate in Big Bear. 2011 was indeed an interesting year for Big Bear real estate. I heard our market described as a manic depressive’s paradise and, although that might be a slight exaggeration, it was indeed hard to pin down the momentum and direction of the market as it seemed to oscillate from, "yes, the sky is actually falling" to "let’s buy some land and start building spec homes again." I did observe much more activity from speculative ‘flip’ type investors this year. Many of whom actually squeaked out respectable gains. It was encouraging to see homes in Big Bear, albeit with work involved on these properties, actually sell for more than was paid on a somewhat regular basis. ...continue reading →

Hello from Big Bear! I hope you are enjoying the season and preparing to have a wonderful holiday with family and friends. We still have a bit of snow on the ground and a bit more on the way, -- it has started snowing again as I write this -- so it looks like it will indeed be a white Christmas here in Big Bear. Let’s check in on the Big Bear real estate market shall we?

As 2011 winds down, the inventory in Big Bear remains tight. There are currently 649 residential listings on our MLS, which has dropped considerably from the nearly 900 we saw this summer. ...continue reading →

The seasons have most certainly changed here in Big Bear. Snow is on the ground from our first storm of the season and the big news in town is that both local ski resorts are now open for fun. Let’s check in on the Big Bear real estate market shall we?

We are seeing an increase in demand here in Big Bear as October residential sales were up overall 13% compared to October of 2010. Much of that increase in sales ...continue reading →

Hello from Big Bear! Wow, hard to believe summer has already come and gone. Hope you all enjoyed the season. Summer in Big Bear is hard to beat. Winter is still by far the busiest season for tourism with lots of folks coming up to enjoy our two fantastic ski resorts. There is certainly lots of fun and excitement to be had in the snow. But summer in Big Bear, with abundant sunny days, mild temperatures, our big public lake and miles of forest to explore, is tons-of-fun as well. Let’s get caught up on what is going on in the Big Bear real estate market, take a look at what has transpired so far this year and what that indicates going forward.

There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the topic of real estate these days. The Big Bear real estate market, which is primarily driven by vacation and second home sales, is certainly no exception. ...continue reading →

April showers bring May flowers and so far this May, more showers. On this rainy day in May, let’s get caught up on what has been happening year to date in the Big Bear Real Estate market. (Aside - The big news in Big Bear right now is that Highway 330, a.k.a. the ‘front road’ to Big Bear, is set to re-open way ahead of schedule. They have been letting mid-week commuter traffic through, one way only and only at specified hours, for some time now. But the road is set to open for regular use for Memorial Day weekend! Although most likely it will return to sporadic use after that while they finish up. It should be set for regular use and remain open by the big July 4th holiday.) ...continue reading →

The big news here in Big Bear, as we switch gears into Spring, is that the lake is literally as full as it can be. In my 11 years here as a local, I have never seen it quite as full and, in fact, they have been letting water out in order to keep it from overflowing at the dam. As we approach the back side of April, the weather is hinting at the warmer months to come and the Big Bear Real Estate market is thawing out nicely. Although tax time always seems to slow down the market just a bit, buyer interest overall is on the rise. Based on our growing list of recent foreclosure assignments, it looks like there will be an increase in bank-owned property (currently foreclosures make up only 8% of our active inventory) hitting the market soon. Do let us know if you would like information on those foreclosures that will be coming out soon. ...continue reading →

Hello all! March, the month when winter finally turns to spring, is here at last. Although two recent storms have left lots of new snow on the ground, so there is still plenty of winter fun left to be had. Let’s take a look at how the Big Bear Real Estate market is holding up.

Currently, we have 650 active residential listings on our MLS. I expect that this will be the low for the year and inventory will begin to steadily increase as we move towards summer. By late summer, ...continue reading →

Thanks for checking in with the Big Bear Real Estate market. Overall, January real estate sales in Big Bear for 2011 were quite comparable to what we saw in January of 2010. Although, this year there was a modest increase in residential closings, from 56 in January of last year to 61 residential closings this January. Of those that closed in the first month of this year, 35% were foreclosures, which is quite a big number when you take into consideration that only 5% of our active inventory is bank-owned. There are currently 652 active listings and 115 properties currently in escrow leading to a more balanced market supply of roughly six months of inventory.

We have been tracking the big bear real estate market and looking at the dramatic difference in demand in different price ranges. ...continue reading →