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List Price, Sales Price, and Market Value.

A lot of buyers today get caught up in what a property is listed for and how much they can get off of the price.  They think the more off the price they can get, the better value they are getting.  While this might be true in some cases, it can be false in others.  Buyers should be more concerned with what the value of the property is, not what it is listed for. Take a look at the video below for more details on a specific example I came across. [viddler id=8277b8d2&w=437&h=368] (Note - if you are viewing … [Read more...]

Absorption Rates For The Big Bear Real Estate Market – September 2008

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Big Bear, you may want to take a look at the absorption rate of homes that are currently for sale. This is a good way to become more informed on the current real estate market conditions in a particular area. There is an easy to understand article here describing what the absorption rate is and what it means for the real estate market. In simplistic terms, it is a mathematical equation that tells the amount of time it will take for a specified set amount of … [Read more...]

What Do Real Estate Agents Get Paid For?

Business coach Jim Rohn has a good response to this type of question.  As with any job, "You get paid for bringing value to the marketplace" Rohn says.  If you are not bringing value to the marketplace, then sooner or later you are not going to get paid. This is even more true in today's tough market conditions. In the life of a real estate agent, this statement could not be closer to the truth.  The role of the real estate agent has changed dramatically since the days before the internet, IDX, VOW's, blogs, … [Read more...]

Buying An REO or Bank Owned Property? Make Sure You Read The Fine Print.

Given the current real estate climate, bank owned or REO (real estate owned by banks) properties have become highly sought after by today's buyers.  Whether or not they ultimately end up purchasing one, most buyers are starting off with this thought in mind. Naturally, these buyers are looking for a deal and most bank owned properties fit this category perfectly.  It is not uncommon to see Big Bear REO properties selling from 75 to 90 cents on the dollar as compared to similar homes on the market. While buying a … [Read more...]

Big Bear 2008 First Quarter Home Sales

This may be a little late but it is still informative to look at and compare the first quarter home sales for 2008 with that of the previous 5 years. It is pretty well known that home sales in Big Bear have slowed down tremendously.  First quarter sales were off 48% from the first quarter of 2007 (and 2007 was the slowest year for the number of sales that we have seen in over 20 years) and 69% less than the first quarter of 2004, the best first quarter in the past 6 years. Year Q1 # of Home Sales Median Sales … [Read more...]

Absorption Rates For The Big Bear Real Estate Market – April 2008

The time it will take to sell a house in Big Bear dropped by 10 months in April 2008.  With the pick up in home sales that we saw in March, the absorption rate for the Big Bear real estate market dropped from 32.72 months to sell to 22.80 months to sell.  This is encouraging news for home sellers though the market is still very heavily favored toward buyers.  The market will need to get closer to a 1-3 month absorption rate in order to get back to a sellers market. Now that we are heading into the spring and … [Read more...]

Big Bear Home Sales On Par With Other Second Home Markets in U.S.

The National Association of Realtors recently released a report on second home sales that was reported on by The Dallas Morning News. The article states that second home sales nationwide dropped by more than 30% in 2007 when compared to 2006. This is pretty consistent with what we saw in the Big Bear real estate market in 2007. There were 1172 residential sales in 2006 as compared to 796 sales in 2007, a difference of 34%. I noticed a few important points to take from the article as it relates to the Big Bear … [Read more...]

Big Bear Residential Market Activity 3/31/2008 to 4/6/2008

Below is a market update for residential properties in the Big Bear Valley during the week of March 31 to April 6. New listings and pending sales were up from the previous week while closed sales were down. The majority of closed sales continue to occur in the Big Bear Lake areas of Boulder Bay, Gilner Point, Ironwood Estates, Eagle Point, Fox Farm and Moonridge.  The areas of Big Bear City, Erwin Lake, Baldwin Lake, Lake Williams and Sugarloaf are still seeing very few sales. Average days on the market for … [Read more...]

Big Bear Real Estate Monday Market Update For 4/7/2008

Below is an update for the Big Bear real estate market as of 4/7/2008. The residential properties listed for sale in Big Bear are up 11 from 1078 homes for sale to 1089 total. The number of houses in escrow are up 16 from last week to 107 while sales year to date now stand at 114 Big Bear homes sold since the beginning of the year, up 7 from last week. Vacant land listings in Big Bear are up by 3 to 340 parcels now for sale. The number of pending sales are up 2 from last week for a total of 28 escrows for … [Read more...]

Big Bear Home Sales For March 2008

The Big Bear real estate market saw an increase in homes sold in the month of March with a total of 46 48 homes sold.  Historically speaking, this is still considered very slow sales activity, though it is nearly 60% 65%higher than January and 50% 54%higher than February of this year.  The median sales price for homes sold in the month of March also increased, going up nearly 8% ($282,000) 10% ($2865,00) as compared to the previous month ($260,000).   The median sales price is still down 2% only down $1000 from … [Read more...]