NUMBER OF SALES
Big Bear lakefront property sales are up in 2009, reaching their highest levels since 2006. This increase in sales can be attributed to buyers being attracted by better overall values as well as aggressively priced lakefront foreclosures and short sales.
LAKEFRONT PROPERTY VALUES
Although the average price of Big Bear lakefront homes is up in 2009, the average price per square foot is down. This suggests that larger, more expensive homes are selling, but selling for significantly less than they have in years past. Lakefronts are selling at pre-2005 values based on the price per square foot comparison.
TIME ON MARKET
The average time Big Bear lakefronts are on the market before selling remains relatively high. Although the fact that it is taking almost 6 months for the average lakefront to sell indicates a soft market, the Days On Market deserves a closer look.
If you consider the Days On Market Distribution graph below, you'll see that most lakefront homes either took less than 100 days or more than 250 days to sell. Very few homes sold near the 170 day average.
This supports the observation that most Big Bear lakefronts are either priced agressively and sell within the first few months of being listed, or list high and spend 8 months or longer on the market.
Also keep in mind that most of the properties that took longer than average to sell do so after several price reductions, often reducing to the list price originally suggested by their listing agent, or manytimes lower, in order to keep up with declining values.
Sale Price to List Price Ratio
The Sale Price to List Price Ratio for Big Bear lakefront homes has remained relatively low. This indicates that lakefront sellers have been conceding more than they have traditionally in order to get their home sold. This is another sign that the Big Bear lakefront real estate market is still soft.