Comparing July's conforming mortgage rates to today's average rates, there's a 1.5 percent difference in favor of homeowners. Rate drops like that make big differences in a household budget. Look at these before-and-after payments, based on rates from the chart: $150,000 mortgage ($144 savings/month) July 2008: $958 monthly February 2009: $814 monthly $250,000 mortgage ($240 savings/month) July 2008: $1,597 monthly February 2009: $1,357 monthly $350,000 mortgage ($335 savings/month) July 2008: $2,235 … [Read more...]
Bank Owned & Short Sale Homes Taking Market Share In Big Bear
January 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Active Listings % of Total Pending Listings % of Total Sold Listings Last Year % of Total Mom & Pop Seller 775 83% 36 31% 534 80% Bank Owned 69 7% 52 46% 115 17% Short Sales 89 10% 26 23% 18 3% Total 933 114 667 As evidenced in the table above, bank owned and short sale homes have taken a larger piece of the overall real estate pie here in Big Bear. 80% of the home sales in Big Bear for 2008 were your traditional, Mom & Pop seller. That made sense as there was a similar percentage, 90-95%, … [Read more...]
Getting Pre-Approved For The Loan, Not As Boring As It Sounds
January 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment
It goes with out saying that the getting a loan could be the biggest factor in determining whether or not a buyer is able to successfully close on a property. Along with a home or property inspection, I would say that 80% or more of the challenges that come up in buying a home in Big Bear fall into these two areas. Paying cash? Great, but you are one of the very few these days. With tighter lender standards in this market, especially in the jumbo loan category (over $417,000 for my area), getting your loan in … [Read more...]
Patience Is More Than A Virtue When Buying Real Estate
December 28, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Patience is the key to getting a "great" deal when buying a property in Big Bear. In this real estate market, those who have the ability to wait, be patient, and let things draw out as they may are the ones who get the best buys when it is all said and done. Every buyer wants to get the best deal possible but very few have the patience necessary when it comes time to buying a house. In today's age of text & instant messaging, twitter, and the wealth of information at your fingertips, actually having to wait … [Read more...]
Searching For Real Estate In Big Bear Just Got A Whole Lot Better
November 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Searching for real estate in Big Bear is getting easier everyday. With more access to the data, consumers are starting to see the full picture of what is going on in a particular real estate market. I recently signed up for a map based IDX MLS search product from Diverse Solutions. For those not familiar with IDX, it stands for internet data exchange. It is essentially an agreement between real estate brokers in the same MLS which permits each broker to share their listings in eachother's online advertising … [Read more...]
Absorption Rates For The Big Bear Real Estate Market – October 2008
November 9, 2008 by Leave a Comment
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 most 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...]
