Home sales in Big Bear for November 2008 (50 total) dropped 25% as compared to the same month last year, and fell 32% from the October 2008 home sales number of 73.
This is a pretty big drop in sales activity, which is most likely a result of all the negative economic news over the past 60+ days. Typically, November & December are the best two months of the year for closings.
The median price for the homes sold was $240,287, down 6% from Oct. 2008 and also down 15% from Nov. 2007. The median price has been quite sporadic the past 6 months, ranging between $205,000 to $282,500. With such a limited amount of sales, any slight variation can throw these numbers around.
There remains nearly $85,000 difference between the median asking price of $325,000 and the median sales price of $240,287. If you are trying to sell your Big Bear home in this market, then it will require an aggressive price. If you are not priced aggressively, you will be one of the hundreds out there that are not selling. With an average of 56 homes selling per month, and over 1000 for sale, that is less than 6% of the total inventory. There is a lot of competition on the market, you need to be realistic!
If you absolutely do not have to sell your home, the don’t even bother trying right now. It is just not the time for “giving it a try.”
Bank owned & short sale properties made up a significant amount of the home sales in Big Bear in November, even more than Oct. 2008. Out of the 50 homes sales, 18 (36%, up from 23% last month) of the them were bank owned while 4 (8%, up from 5% last month) were short sales. That is a total of 22 homes, or 44% of the total sales in November, 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.
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, 50 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 – November 2008
| Month and Year | # Homes For Sale | Median Asking $ | # Homes Sold | Median Sales $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Nov 2006 | 90 | $392,000 |
Year to Date Sales (1/1/2008 – 11/30/2008)
| Year | # of Homes Sold | Median Sales Price | Average Sales Price | Days on Market | List Price to Sales Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 621 | $255,000 | $330,724 | 135 | 94% |
| 2007 | 734 | $314,500 | $407,424 | 123 | 95% |
| 2006 | 1061 | $319,300 | $397.086 | 81 | 97% |
| 2005 | 1647 | $289,900 | $356,108 | 68 | 98% |
| 2004 | 1738 | $230,000 | $274,615 | 75 | 98% |
| 2003 | 1481 | $185,500 | $226,535 | 58 | 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 113 (16%) behind the 2007 numbers. 2008 will go down as slowest year for sales in Big Bear in over 20 years.
The median sales price for 2008 is down 19% from the 2007 median, and the average sales price is down 19% from 2007 as well.
Year to date sales are off more than 64% from 2004 numbers though the median & average sales prices for 2008 are still higher than 2004 by 10% & 17% 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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