Mike Wochner

Phone: 909.633.2558

Biography

I joined The Tim Wood Group at Coldwell Banker in 1999 and have helped hundreds of families purchase and sell homes and investment properties throughout the Big Bear area. I'm a full time agent who studies the market daily and knows the area.

Author Archive

What the Internet Won’t Tell You About A Big Bear Property

0 Comments

By Mike Wochner on January 25th, 2011
Categories: Big Bear Buyers, Big Bear Market Conditions, Big Bear Real Estate News, Real Estate Technology
Tags: big bear real estate, buying a home, internet shopping

The internet has changed a lot of things in our industry over the past 10 years. When I first started selling real estate in 1999 (which wasn’t THAT long ago) everyone relied on printed MLS books which were issued every other week as their primary source for current information.

Yes, we did have an MLS online, but with dial-up it was a pain in the neck looking up stuff and the old MLS didn’t even have photos online! It was very archaic.

Fast forward to 2011, within seconds a potential buyer can “google earth” a particular property, check out property statistics, neighborhood information, see multiple photos, and read about the school systems with a click of the button. They can go online and read reviews about agents in their area, look at photos of the agents and their dogs …or whatever marketing tactic they use to try and connect with the public.

Nowadays, buyers can drive around in their own car with their smart phone with a realtor.com app, zillow app, or trulia app that geo-codes where they are and tells them what’s for sale, who the listing agent is, property details, what the seller paid for it, neighborhood stats, etc. Buyers have just about as much access as the agents do as to what’s available and they can form their own opinion in seconds as to whether or not a property is a good deal. But what’s posted online isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be…

It might fail to mention that the property owner next door has a pit bull that almost attacked the photographer, or that it won’t stop barking.
It might not truly represent the floor plan
The photos might actually look better online than the house actually shows in person (due to photoshop or photo enhancing software)
It might smell really, really bad…how do you know if a property smells bad by just looking online?
The view might not accurately be represented (both positively and negatively)
Ever see a photo of a home online that looks secluded….but when you view it in person there’s a house, a telephone wire, or a neighboring car on blocks that got cropped out of the photo?

Even though technology has enabled everybody to access more information quickly, sometimes the best information is the information that’s not found online. Information like:

What’s the seller’s motivation (divorce, job transfer, not using it, financial hardship?)
What other properties sold on that street and were they distressed?
Is this part of town good for vacation rentals?
Do I have to worry about a wood shake/shingle roof (click here to read about city ordinance 2007 373)?
Are there HOA fees, or CC&R’s which would prohibit ______?
What are the pros/cons for this area?

The internet has definitely changed the way we live our lives, but the knowledge and experience of a good real estate agent is irreplaceable.

Mike Wochner

Does Your Big Bear Lake Cabin have a Wood Shake Roof?

2 Comments

By Mike Wochner on January 4th, 2011
Categories: Big Bear Buyers, Big Bear Real Estate News, Big Bear Sellers
Tags: big bear, cabins, city ordinance, point of sale, real estate, wood shake roofs

If so, you may be interested in this.

Effective July 1, 2012, all homeowners within the City of Big Bear Lake, have to remove wood shake/shingle roofs from their property (in compliance with Big Bear Lake city ordinance 2007-373). The ordinance was approved back in July of 2007 in an attempt to reduce structural fires with fire-resistant materials.

In conjunction with this ordinance, the City of Big Bear Lake/Big Bear Lake Fire Protection District received funding from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through a Hazard Mitigation Grant to reimburse homeowners who live near the San Bernardino National Forest. Identified property owners within 1,500 feet of the Forest can receive up to 70% of the lowest contract bid to replace their shake shingle roofs. Homeowners must be in strict compliance with state and local defensible space requirements and they must also attend a workshop which explains the program. If your property qualifies for this grant, it will save you thousands of dollars so make sure to look into this!

How is this Ordinance Being Enforced?

According to the ordinance, “The owner of the applicable property, within the City of Big Bear Lake, at the time of sale, or at the voluntary transfer, shall be required to produce at the close of escrow or, if there is no escrow, have in the owner’s possession on the effective date of sale or transfer, a “certificate of compliance” from the Fire Chief stating that the said property is in compliance with City of Big Bear Lake Development Code Section 17.25.090(A)(3) and the California Building Standards, as adopted by the City, prohibiting wood shake shingle roofing”.

A point-of-sale initiative like this brings up a couple of interesting arguments.

1). How many homes sell each year that have shake roofs? This ordinance only relates to properties that voluntarily transfer their property. In 2010, according to the Big Bear MLS, there were 14 properties that had shake roofs. That’s 14 out of 993 properties that changed hands in an entire year. To me, it seems like the majority of properties that have shake roofs in Big Bear are the properties that stay in a family and get passed down from generation to generation. A very small percentage of homes will really fit this scenario….I just want to make sure you’re not one of the select few that didn’t know about it when buying a bank owned property that was sold “as-is” and your agent wasn’t aware or didn’t disclose it to you.

2). It’s difficult to find an insurance company that will insure a home that has a wood shake roof nowadays. So that check and balance should take care of itself. Every once in a while, you’ll get an insurance company that will allow you to close on property, but requires a written release which states that you will replace the roof within “x” days after the close of escrow to insure they’re getting a property with a new roof.

All in all, I think this initiative is a step in the right direction. Most people know that Big Bear is susceptible to fires based on its climate, it’s geography, and it’s topography (it’s surrounded by National Forest)…creating defensible space and having a fire prevention plan is a necessity when you live in the mountains. But I wouldn’t expect this initiative to be posted everywhere. Just make sure your real estate agent is aware of this so you can negotiate it out properly with a seller if you’re trying to buy a property in Big Bear. As a seller, make sure you’re aware of this so you can be prepared for a buyer that makes this request. As they say, knowledge is power…and having an agent that’s on your side that knows current and future legislation will benefit you.

Below is a copy of the ordinance. If you have any questions or if we can be of any assistance feel free to call/email me.

Ordinance 2007 373

Vacant Land in Big Bear is Soooo 2003.

0 Comments

By Mike Wochner on October 30th, 2009
Categories: Big Bear Market Conditions, Big Bear Real Estate News
Tags: big bear real estate, market conditions, prices, sales, vacant land

How hard is it to sell vacant land in today’s real estate market in Big Bear? Take a look at the chart below…

Big Bear Vacant Land Sales

There’s been a dramatic shift in the number of vacant land sales over the past several years. In 2003, our MLS recorded 602 total vacant land sales. ’04 we had 514 vacant land sales. ’05 we had 482. It wasn’t until the turn of 2007 that we saw a dramatic drop in number of sales. We went from 365 total vacant land sales in 2006 to 186 in 2007. And to top it off, 2008 dropped sharply with only 72 total vacant land sales. It’s easy to understand as land values increased, the number of sales decreased.

Prices on average for vacant land rose all the way through 2008 but turned for the worse in 2009….the average sales price is down over 50% from last year. To say it’s a bad time to sell would be an understatement. So if you’re in the market to sell a vacant lot, don’t sell it unless you have to sell. And if you have to sell, price it aggressively so it stands out as a good deal.

Big Bear Vacant Land Prices

As inventory levels decrease, demand for vacant land will increase…and as they say “they’re not makin’ any more land”….but it might take a while before we see the kind of activity we saw in 2004 (in both price and number of sales).

Supply of Homes for Sale in Big Bear Flat in 2009

0 Comments

By Mike Wochner on October 8th, 2009
Categories: Big Bear Foreclosures, Big Bear Market Conditions, Big Bear Real Estate News
Tags: big bear real estate, demand, inventory, listings, supply

It seems like most people who monitor the real estate market look at the number homes sold each month to gauge how the market is doing. On our site, Tyler does a great job of breaking down all of the sales…he looks at the number of bank owned homes compared to organic sales, month vs. month sales, year over year sales…there’s a lot of useful information packed into a couple paragraphs.

But looking from a different angle, I thought I would take a look at the supply side of the equation and see if there’s anything that stands out as far as inventory levels (what’s currently on the market). The information I got was directly from our MLS, but the data encompasses all residential listings (including Onyx Summit and homes out of the Big Bear area that are reported through our system)…so the numbers might be slightly higher from what Tyler reports but it’s more inclusive of what the Big Bear Association of Realtors reports.

Residentials Homes on the Market

What Sticks Out to Me

Looking at the graph, 2009′s residential inventory has been relatively flat compared to previous years. As a matter of fact, we’ve seen a 25% drop in the number of homes currently on the market compared to last year. Typically during the Summer months, the inventory builds up until late September or early October and new listings slow down as the holidays approach so this is rather surprising.

You would expect inventory levels to rise in a slower market, not hold steady. I assume there’s a couple reasons for this:

If a Seller DOESN’T HAVE TO SELL, they won’t sell in today’s market. I’m sure there’s plenty of Big Bear property owners who would like to sell, but if they’re not happy with the realistic price of their home they’ll hold off until they see more stability in the real estate market and prices level off.
Bank owned properties in Big Bear are selling quick so they’re not affecting the numbers that much. They’re on and off the market within 30 days if they’re priced aggressively, so you can’t blame the banks with the argument that they’re “flooding the market”.

The X Factor

There’s been a lot of talk lately through the media about all of the “shadow inventory” that’s going to be coming on the market over the next six months to a year. According to the theory, lenders are sitting on hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes throughout the country that they have not resold or put up for sale yet. The fear is that the amount of inventory that hasn’t hit the market is much higher than anyone really anticipates or is measuring.

I’m not sure if this really applies to Big Bear. Yes, I think there’s a lag time between when the bank takes a property back and when it hits the market, but I don’t think there’s a huge amount of local inventory that the bank currently owns and is sitting on it. They want to get rid of that liability as quickly as possible to make their books look stronger.

The big question mark in my opinion is what happens to the Notice of Defaults in Big Bear over the next year, which are still at record highs, and how it affects the inventory levels at that time. Only time will tell, but I would expect the inventory level to rise next Spring.

Recent Sales Numbers Around the Big Bear Valley Area

0 Comments

By Mike Wochner on June 7th, 2009
Categories: Big Bear Foreclosures, Big Bear Market Conditions, Big Bear Neighborhoods, Big Bear Real Estate News
Tags: Big Bear Neighborhoods, big bear real estate, home sales, market conditions

Big Bear Market Stats

We’re halfway through 2009 so I figured it would be helpful to give you an update on the activity over the first two quarters of the year. I’ve broken down some data for the different areas of Big Bear and here’s what stands out in my opinion.

Big Bear Lake Sales- 19 out of 57 buyers paid cash so far this year in Big Bear Lake. This includes Lakefront Sales. 19 were Bank Owned (REO) properties. Average Days on Market was 139. Average Price per Square Foot was $241.14/ft. As of today, there are 208 homes for sale in the Big Bear Lake area with prices ranging from $59,000 to $4,775,000.

Lakefront Sales- 8 out of 10 buyers paid cash so far this year along the lake. 2 sales were Bank Owned (REO) properties. Average Days on Market was 166. Average Price per Square Foot was $516.10/ft along the lake. Sales bordering the water have been selling within 5 percent of the asking price with an average sales price of $1,385,020. As of today, there are 34 homes currently listed on the Lake. The only statistic that skews the numbers is the fact that one buyer bought 3 out of the 10 properties….so the activity isn’t as strong as it looks. Prices currently range from $400,000 to $4,775,000 on Big Bear Lake.

Big Bear City Sales- 22 out of the 70 buyers paid cash so far in 2009 in this area. 39 sales were Bank Owned (REO) properties. Average Days on Market was 120. Average Price per Square Foot was $146.30/ft. Sales in this area have been selling within 5 percent of the asking price with an average sales price Read the rest of this entry »