You had better hope that the real estate agent who is representing you in Big Bear does. I get on these kicks from time to time but I am starting to see a trend of more real estate agents from out of the Big Bear area, with little to no knowledge of the area, trying to list and sell properties in the Big Bear area. Most of this is market driven, as deals are tougher to come by these days. But, some of this is being driven by the fact that there is a lot more real estate data available online for consumers & … [Read more...]
Big Bear Home Sellers, Have You Considered Staging?
January 30, 2009 by 2 Comments
Super Bowl Weekend traditionally marks the start of the Spring Buying Season in real estate. Anecdotally, real estate agents will tell you that buyer activity tends to tick higher at this time of the year. Meanwhile, with mortgage rates still trolling near all-time lows and Congress debating a first-time homebuyer tax credit, 2009 may bring out even more buyers than we've seen in the past. Just having your home on the market may not be enough to attract an offer, though -- the home has to have appeal. That … [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...]
The Best In Show Is First To Go
January 24, 2009 by Leave a Comment
[viddler id=9775a0e6&w=545&h=349] Everyone knows it is tough to sell a home in this market. It is not impossible though. While there are some things you cannot control, like location, there are certainly some other things that you can. The asking price, the overall property condition, showing restrictions and the like are all things well within a seller's choice to make. Whether they decide to make the right choice is up to them. The two most important factors in getting a home sold in today's market … [Read more...]
The Big Bear MLS – Is Your Property In It?
January 20, 2009 by 1 Comment
The vast majority of properties sold in Big Bear are sold by real estate agents who live, work, and breath in Big Bear. Yet, some sellers (read:banks) list their properties with out of area agents who don't have much experience selling property in Big Bear. It is kind of like a knee doctor working on your elbow. Can they do it? Sure, but are they really the expert? What's worse is these real estate agents rarely put the listing in the local Big Bear MLS (Multiple Listing Service). How are the local agents … [Read more...]
How Not To Reduce The Price Of Your Big Bear Home
January 17, 2009 by 2 Comments
Price reductions are commonplace in today's real estate market. Many days, they actually outnumber the number of closed sales & new pending sales. Price reductions happen because the seller or real estate agent overestimated the market value of the property in the beginning and the buyers reject it. Dropping the price is not necessarily a bad thing, it happens. But, the key reason to drop the price is to spark some interest, generate some activity, and hopefully, an offer. Many times though the seller only … [Read more...]
More Evidence Of The Bank-Owned, REO Mentality
December 19, 2008 by 1 Comment
Home buyers today are of the "Bank-Owned/REO Mentality." They want to buy something with that kind of price tag, regardless of who owns it. I came across an article from CNNMoney that really hits home on what is going on in the current housing market. If you want to sell a home in this market, no matter how much it hurts, you need to price your home like a bank-owned or REO property. That is your competition. The tough part about this is that bank-owned or REO properties are priced 20-40% less than the non-REO … [Read more...]
Even Andy Rooney Knows How to Sell A Home In Big Bear
December 13, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Selling a home in Big Bear should be easy, at least according to Andy Rooney. I remember seeing this video last year and laughing when he reviewed all the self help books he has received over the years. When he gets to the "Tips on selling a House" book, around the 1:10 part of the video, he gives his simple, yet very true, advice, "you don't need 1001 tips on how to sell your home, just lower your price and your home will sell." Seems simple and easy enough, right? Now I understand that not everyone can lower … [Read more...]
Pricing Your Big Bear Home – Get Ahead Of The Buyer Train
November 18, 2008 by 5 Comments
One of the most common mistakes sellers make in this market is overpricing their home. It is human nature to think ours is better than the others. In real estate however, the numbers speak for themselves. The quote, "Liars figure, but figures never lie" seems appropriate. The biggest risk with overpricing a home now is that every month the home in on the market the price moves farther down, sometimes 1-2% (for Big Bear) per month. Many times sellers start out too high, and then reduce only to see that they are … [Read more...]
