I recently had a client ask me about how Big Bear lakefront home prices were faring so far this year and if and to what extent I felt the lake's water level being so low has affected the market. So I ran some quick numbers and this is how lakefront sales look so far in 2015 as compared to the 2014 year end numbers.

The average sale price of Big Bear lakefront homes is up slightly from $1,319,780 last year to $1,325,750 so far this year.

The median sale price of lakefronts is up from $1,125,000 last year to $1,227,500 this year representing an 8% gain.

The average price per square foot is down slightly from $466 last year to $462 this year.

The median price per square foot is up from $479 last year to $492 this year for a 3% gain.

Currently there are six Big Bear lakefront properties in escrow ranging from 1.2M to 1.9M which should result in higher 2015 price appreciation numbers.

As for the effect that Big Bear lake's low water levels has had on the market, there are too many factors that go into lakefront sales to draw any definitive conclusions. But based on an admittedly small sample size of anecdotal evidence and professional opinion, I feel confident in saying that the sale of shallow water lakefront sales slowed significantly as the negative effects of low water levels on these homes were exposed by the current conditions. At 13 feet from full and with water levels being their lowest in over 10 years, many shallow water lakefronts lost their access to the lake.

But on the other hand, deeper water lakefronts also showed to be less vulnerable to such conditions which gave added value to these locations.

Overall, I don't think anyone would argue that a full lake is much better than a lake that is 13 feet from full. But it is important to keep in mind that overall market numbers might not tell the whole story, as the attributes and detriments of many properties have been exposed and exaggerated by the historically low water levels of Big Bear Lake.

The local hope is that the well-touted El Nino will find it's way to our Souhthern California Mountains and we will not only have record snowfall  and an exemplary ski season, but also have a resulting full lake come next summer!