The number of Big Bear lakefront homes for sale has fallen steadily over the past year with today's home inventory offering just 15 listings on the lake. This is the fewest number of lakefront listings since I began keeping track almost a decade ago.
With over a 50% drop in lakefront listings in the last year alone, the current record-low number of waterfront homes for sale indicates a shift in the market that now is moving towards sellers regaining control. With buyers having controlled the market over the last six years, now that lakeside home inventory is so low and our buyer demand continues to remain strong, more sellers are willing to hold on to their properties until they get offers closer to their asking price.
For years clients have been asking me when we will see a bottom to the real estate market. My usual answer was that I would be able to tell when we bottomed out 6 months to a year after it happened. It is looking like that time has finally come and that I can say with relative certainty that the market has shifted - and shifted quicker than anyone imagined it would.
I am not suggesting that we will see double digit increases in prices as we did in 2004-2005 quite yet. But if you've been looking to purchase a Big Bear home and have been waiting for more certainty that the market has turned and that home values will increase once again, I think that time is here.