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Big Bear Sellers, Time is Not on Your Side.

Click here for video link. Back in the "crazy" Big Bear real estate years of 2000 thru 2007, the longer a home was on the market, the more a seller could get for it.  The prices were going up every month, and sellers were getting lucky.  Over the past 5 years however, this process has flip flopped.  Generally, the longer a home sits on the market, the lower the price it will fetch.  Seems pretty simple.  Yet, sellers continue to tell me they want to sell, but they are not in a hurry.   Therein lies the … [Read more...]

Dip In Inventory Equals Opportunity For Big Bear Real Estate Sellers

Direct link to - Window of opportunity for Big Bear sellers The number of homes for sale in Big Bear has been steadily dropping the past few months.  Just recently, we dipped below 600 homes for sale.  With that comes a window of real estate opportunity for some Big Bear home sellers. As the inventory levels drop, so does the number of available options for buyers to choose from.  And when they have less options to choose from, this makes certain properties stand out, which in turn increases the odds of that … [Read more...]

Who Controls the Real Estate Prices in Big Bear?

Direct link to Big Bear Real Estate - Who Controls Real Estate Pricing? In short, the buyers. Real Estate agents like to think they have some effect on the pricing, but I believe it is determined mostly by the buyers, and to some degree, sellers.  It doesn't matter how great an agent thinks they are, our how much money they spend marketing the property, if the price is too high and the buyers don't agree with it, it won't sell.  No amount of skill or marketing will force a buyer to pay a significant amount … [Read more...]

Big Bear Real Estate Buyers – Time is of the Essence!

Click here if you cannot see the video above. The standard real estate contract for the state of California includes a clause that says, "Time is of the Essence."  Essentially, this means that the parties to the contract need to perform according to the timelines laid out in the contract or they could otherwise be in breach of the contract. It appears to me that a lot of buyers, and many agents, seem to totally ignore this clause.  It is pretty common for most escrows to be delayed 1-2 weeks or more.  It is … [Read more...]

Where Are The Big Bear Real Estate Buyers?

Related post - The Chicken or The Egg in Big Bear Real Estate? … [Read more...]

Low Appraisals – The Kiss Of Death for Your Big Bear Real Estate Deal.

I've had a few appraisals come in low the past couple weeks, and both times the buyers chose to back out of the deal. While this certainly happens from time to time, and is part of the real estate process, there are some things to keep in mind when talking about appraisals. As the video points out, appraisals are not fact. Rather, they are the opinion of one individual appraiser. While you would expect most appraisers to agree and come to the same value on a property, they don't. This is because some … [Read more...]

Does Your Big Bear Home Have Wiggle Room?

Direct link to the YouTube video. … [Read more...]

Does Your Big Bear Home Have The “Cabiny” Feel?

Link to YouTube Video. If not, selling your Big Bear home is going to be a litte tougher. Nearly 80% of the real estate buyers in Big Bear come from out of the area, and they are looking for a second home retreat. That said, the vast majority of these buyers are looking for something completely different than their primary home - a woodsy, cabin retreat.  They want a home with lots of wood or logs, T&G (tongue & groove) wood, high ceilings, heavy beams, & a rustic fireplace. So, if your property … [Read more...]

The Chicken or The Egg in Big Bear Real Estate?

YouTube video link. Most sellers think that as long as their property is on the market, buyers are going to look at it.  They neglect the fact that many buyers make the decision if they want to see the home before they actually go out to it in person. With so much information available online, buyers are quick to dismiss the properties that miss the mark in one way or another. And it is not that they aren't seeing all of the listings. Unless the buyer lives in the Osama Bin Laden compound with no internet access … [Read more...]

What Do Real Estate and Weather Reports Have In Common?

Link to YouTube video. They are most accurate when describing local conditions. I wrote a post several years ago on this same topic but it is still just as important today - especially given all the news about homes prices, sales numbers, and foreclosures that get published every month. The key point is this - just as you wouldn't watch a weather report in San Francisco (insert any other City name here other than Big Bear) and assume it must be the same weather conditions in Big Bear, you shouldn't take advice … [Read more...]