A recent article by the L.A. Times says the median price of homes in the Big Bear area dropped between 15-25% in February of 2008 as compared to February 2007.
| Area | Number of Sales | Median Price | Drop in Price from 2/07 | Median Price Home Per Sqft. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Bear Lake 92315 | 17 | $333,000 | -24% | $243 |
| Big Bear City 92314 | 11 | $235,000 | -14.6% | $221 |
| Sugarloaf 92386 | 6 | $164,000 | -21.9% | $146 |
| Fawnskin 92333 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
It is interesting to compare this with the median home prices for Big Bear that I posted on earlier this month. My stats show an average drop in the median homes prices of 14% for the Big Bear area in the month of Feb. I am using the Big Bear MLS for my stats while it looks like they might be using title records as they are showing 3 more sales in the month of February than I am.
Either way, I think the 25% is on the high end of things while 14% is going to be on the low end of things.
It is very important to keep things in perspective. Just like every real estate market is different, each property is different and needs to be treated like such. To use blanket statements based on averages or medians is to not understand the real estate market.
For example, to use these figures above and apply it to the lakefront market in Big Bear would be ridiculous. Lakefront values and prices have continually held strong in Big Bear, actually going up nearly double the past 5-6 years. Conversely, if you are looking at a bank owned or REO option, then these numbers might be a little under what the real numbers are.
There are many news stories out there claiming various numbers and statistics. Be sure to talk with a real estate professional in the Big Bear area who can digest all these numbers and can give you the real story on market conditions.
