Home sales in Big Bear increased 28% in October 2008 as compared to the same month last year, but fell 11% from the September 2008 home sales number of 82. Though it is down, it was still the second best month for homes sales in Big Bear this year.
The median price for the homes sold was $255,000, up 12% from Sept. 2008 but down 18% from Oct. 2007. The median price has been quite sporadic the past 6 months, ranging between $205,000 to $290,000. With such a limited amount of sales, any slight variation can throw these numbers around.
There remains nearly $75,000 difference between the median asking price of $329,000 and the median sales price of $255,000. Selling a home in this market still requires an aggressive price. If you are not priced aggressively, you will be one of the many others out there that are not selling. With an average of 57 homes selling per month, and over 1100 for sale, that is less than 6% of the total inventory. There is a lot of competition on the market.
Bank owned & short sale properties made up a significant amount of the home sales in Big Bear in October, even more than Sept. 2008. Out of the 73 homes sales, 17 (23%) of the them were bank owned while 4 (5%) were short sales. That is a total of 21 homes, or 28% of the total sales in October, that were “distressed” sales. 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.
A little perspective – given the economic turmoil of the past 45 days, these numbers are actually quite good all things considered. Better than the stock market did during the same time frame.
Big Bear Homes Sales – October 2008
| Month and Year | # Homes For Sale | Median Asking $ | # Homes Sold | Median Sales $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Nov 2006 | 90 | $392,000 | ||
| Oct 2006 | 96 | $270,000 |
Year to Date Sales (1/1/2008 – 10/31/2008)
| Year | # of Homes Sold | Median Sales Price | Average Sales Price | Days on Market | List Price to Sales Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 569 | $255,000 | $330,278 | 134 | 94% |
| 2007 | 668 | $315,000 | $412,510 | 123 | 95% |
| 2006 | 972 | $313,950 | $389,247 | 79 | 97% |
| 2005 | 1510 | $289,000 | $356,259 | 69 | 98% |
| 2004 | 1572 | $229,000 | $272,915 | 75 | 98% |
| 2003 | 1329 | $185,000 | $225,023 | 57 | 98% |
Big Bear Home Sales – Year to Date Numbers
Though we have seen a pick up in sales over the past two quarters, the number of homes sold this year is still 99 (15%) behind the 2007 numbers. 2008 may go down as slowest year for sales in Big Bear in over 20 years. The median sales price for 2008 is down 20% from the 2007 median, and the average sales price is down 20% from 2007 as well.
Year to date sales are off more than 63% from 2004 numbers though the median & average sales prices for 2008 are still higher than 2004 by 11% & 18% respectively. That is some good news to end 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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Big Bear Home Sales For September 2008
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