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Big Bear Home Sales – December 2008

Home sales in Big Bear for December 2008 (41 total) dropped 26% as compared to December 2007, and fell 18% from the November 2008 home sales number of 50.

Typically, November & December are the best two months of the year for closings/sales, but this year they ranked 5th & 3rd respectively as the slowest months for sales in 2008.

The median price for the homes sold was $262,000, up 9% from Nov. 2008, but down 5% from Dec. 2007. With such a limited amount of sales, any slight variation can throw these numbers around.  So, even though the median price went up month to month, it is important to look closer at the numbers.  Given there was one home sold over $2,200,000, and two others close to $1,000,000 during Dec. 2008, the median number was pushed a bit higher.  This means some of the higher end homes sold last month as compared to the previous month.

There remains nearly $60,000 difference between the median asking price of $320,950 and the median sales price of $262,000. If you are trying to sell your Big Bear home in this market, then it will require an aggressive price. Sellers continue to need to be realistic with their pricing in this market.  It is still the most important factor in getting a property sold.

If you don’t think bank owned / REO & short sale properties are competition, take a look at these numbers. Out of the 41 homes sales in December, 16 (39%, up 3% from last month) of the them were bank owned or REO while 2 (4%, down 5% from last month) were short sales. That is a total of 18 homes, or 44% (same as last month) of the total sales in December, that were “distressed” sales.

Again, while the bank owned properties may be driving real estate prices downward, there continue to be buyers ready & willing to jump on the opportunity to buy them. If you want to sell in this market, you need to price it like a bank owned property.

One important item to note, there are still buyers out there. It is common for the prospective buyers in this market to think that they are the only ones looking for property. They think they are special (like sellers used to think back in 03′, 04′ & 05′). The fact is, 41 people bought a home in Big Bear last month. The number may be less, but buyers are still out there. If you are looking at a property in Big Bear, and it is a “good deal,” there is a good a chance that you are not the only one looking at it, even in this market.

Big Bear Homes Sales – December 2008

Month and Year # Homes For Sale Median Asking $ # Homes Sold Median Sales $
Dec 2008 956 $320,950 41 $262,000
Nov 2008 1032 $325,000 50 $240,287
Oct 2008 1078 $329,000 73 $255,000
Sept 2008 1109 $328,500 82 $224,500
Aug 2008 60 $282,500
July 2008 62 $205,000
June 2008 62 $247,500
May 2008 67 $290,000
April 2008 50 $299,500
Mar 2008 1082 $339,950 49 $288,000
Feb 2008 1049 $345,000 34 $249,950
Jan 2008 1094 $339,900 30 $283,250
Dec 2007 55 $273,750
Nov 2007 66 $282,500
Oct 2007 53 $310,000
Sept 2007 60 $269,750
Aug 2007 81 $310,000
July 2007 70 $293,450
June 2007 59 $350,000
May 2007 81 $309,900
April 2007 59 $340,000
Mar 2007 82 $311,100
Feb 2007 78 $302,500
Jan 2007 55 $325,000
Dec 2006 95 $320,000

Year to Date Sales (1/1/2008 – 12/31/2008)

Year # of Homes Sold Median Sales Price Average Sales Price Days on Market List Price to Sales Price
2008 665 $255,000 $332,408 135 94%
2007 786 $310,000 $403,812 124 95%
2006 1155 $319,500 $400,232 83 97%
2005 1802 $290,000 $355,918 68 98%
2004 1905 $235,000 $276,716 76 98%
2003 1646 $188,000 $228,284 41 98%

Big Bear Home Sales – Year to Date Numbers

The number of homes sold this year ended up 121, or 16%, behind the 2007 sales numbers. 2008 will go down as slowest year for sales in Big Bear in over 20 years.

The median sales price for 2008 was down 18% from the 2007 median, and the average sales price was down 18% from 2007 as well.

Year to date sales were off more than 66% from 2004 numbers though the median & average sales prices for 2008 were still higher than 2004 by 8% & 17% respectively. That is some good news to end the year with!

* Note: The charts above will be updated on a monthly basis. It represents single family home sales in the Big Bear area, including Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Moonridge, Fox Farm, Sugarloaf, Erwin Lake, & Fawnskin. Data courtesy of the Big Bear MLS. These numbers do not include raw land or condos nor does not include homes in the Big Bear MLS that are located out of the Big Bear area.

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Sales Up, Prices Down In Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Home Sales For November 2008

Big Bear Home Sales 2008 – 2nd & 3rd Quarters

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

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