Big Bear lakefront homes are undeniably the most sought after properties in all of Big Bear. As such, it should come as no surprise that there are rarely more than a few dozen homes available for sale on the lake at any given point in time. Lakefront homes in Big Bear tend to have lower turn over as buyers hold onto these homes for longer periods of time resulting in waterfront home inventory that is usually quite thin.

Currently, there are surprisingly few lakefront homes for sale with there being only 10 listings as of today. (I can't remember a time where there were fewer lakefront homes for sale. The most I remember were 43 lakefronts for sale a few years ago.) Keep in mind that these 10 homes range from a list price of under $600,000 to properties approaching $3,000,000. For buyers looking in a certain price range, there are likely no more than 2 or 3 options to choose from.

Because there are so few homes for sale at this point in time and because lakefront properties are always in demand regardless of the season, there is an even stronger seller's market than usual for Big Bear lakefront homes. I will be curious to see if we see more lakefront listings soon as sellers may want to take advantage of the current market conditions.

But at the same time, Big Bear Lake is experiencing a drought unseen in over 15 years. Big Bear Lake is about 13 feet below full while locals are still waiting for "Monster El Nino" to show up.

When the lake's water levels are this low, many lakefront homes lose the ability to access the lake. Docks end up beached and certain coves completely dry up. Other lakefronts may still have accessible docks, but there may be hundreds of feet of dry lake bed between one's property line and one's dock. As you would imagine, conditions like these hinder lakefront sales as there is uncertainty as to if and when the lake will return to full.

True deep water lakefront properties are the winners, as their access is hardly affected and their value in these off years of far below normal lake levels is unaffected or may even benefit from these conditions.  

Who will win the tug of war between sellers who have low inventory on their side and buyers who will expect lower prices to hedge against further lake level declines? Only time will tell. But my best prediction is that the only winners are the deep water lakefront owners who could likely sell for a premium at this point in time.