With Labor Day right around the corner, our busy summer home buying season is fast drawing to a close. August is traditionally one of our busiest months for closing with summer vacationers having had the time to vacation in Big Bear, fall in love with our beautiful mountain community, and subsequently purchase a home.
In that regard, this August saw a 7% increase in the number of Big Bear homes sold as compared to August 2014 with 112 closings this year.
The average and median sales prices moved in different directions when comparing to August 2014's numbers. The average sale price slid a slight 3% to $274,719 while the median home price rose 5% to $220,000.
The average and median price per square foot both rose in August 2015 to $200 and $197 respectively, representing an increase of 11% and 9% over last August.
With the number of sales up 7% in August, the number of homes listed for sale are now about 9% lower than last year at this time with only 593 homes for sale in Big Bear currently. With demand slowly trending higher and supply trending slightly lower, it appears market forces are suggesting increased home values in the foreseeable future.
Although summer is nearly over, sales should stay strong as September, October and November are historically 3 of our top 5 months for home sales. With summer buyers finally making their move, mixed with winter buyers looking to purchase a property in time for the holiday season, I would expect the Big Bear real estate market to remain quite active moving forward.