BIG BEAR LAKEFRONT REAL ESTATE
Big Bear Lakefront Market Update - 8/30/10
Sales of Big Bear lakefront homes stayed sluggish through the summer with only 9 closed sales to date. Last year, there had been 14 closed sales by the same date.
Average and median prices of lakefront homes also continued to drop, although prices in the overall market suggest that values are finally levelling off - at least for the time being.
Activity does seem to be picking up as of late. There have been more property showings and more internet traffic the last few weeks. Last year, the 4th quarter was our busiest for home sales. Perhaps we are seeing the same trend this year.
Here is an historical perspective of lakefront price trends:
Big Bear Lakefront Market Update - 1/1/10
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.
Keep in mind that the above Sale Price/List Price ratio is based on the listing price at the time of sale. If you look at the eventual sale price as compared to the original list price of the home, the ratio is a mere 84%.
In that regard, if you look at the graph below, you'll see the relationship between how long it took to sell a lakefront home and how close that home sold to its original list price.
Homes that spent fewer days on the market sold for much closer to their original list price than homes taking longer to sell. This suggests that lakefront properties that are priced right sell quickly, whereas properties priced too high stay on the market longer and have to reduce their price significantly over time in order to get sold.
Sales Per Time of Year
Many buyers, sellers, and real estate agents alike believe that summer is when the large majority of Big Bear lakefront transactions take place. Although this is true, reviewing the graph below, you'll see that although most sales do take place in the summer, the other times of year still see proportionally significant sales.
If you have any other questions about the Big Bear Lakefront Real Estate market, please contact me so that I can update this page with the information you've requested.
Paul Zamoyta • 909.557.8285 • Info@Zamoyta.com