The recovery from The Great Recession continues with Big Bear real estate values continuing their strong recovery. All four major price measures showed improvement in 2014 in spite of sales slowing and inventory rising.
Here is an historical look at the average and median sales prices of Big Bear homes:
This figure shows the steady rise from the home price trough we saw in 2011. Fairly consistent with the gains seen the past few years, 2014 saw a 10% and 8% rise in the average and median sales price of Big Bear homes to $276,332 and $205,000 respectively.
Now an historical look at the average and median sales price measures:
Again we see the same steady recovery in price per square foot measures as we saw in the sales price measures. 2014 experienced an 11% rise in the average price per square foot and an 8% increase in the median price per square foot with the yearly average now reaching $185 and $175 respectively.
Although the steady climb in Big Bear property values continued, the number of Big Bear homes sold showed a significant dip for the first time since 2008 with sales falling 14% over last year's numbers.
The average number of Days On Market (DOM) in 2015 stayed steady at 99 days while the number of Big Bear homes for sale rose approximately 20%. With slowing demand (decreased sales) and rising supply (increased number of homes on the market), we may be seeing a slow shift towards a more normal market which shows 6%-8% appreciation per year.
On the other hand, there are factors that may suggest otherwise. Interest rates are again near all-time lows (currently 3.75% for a 30 year fixed loan) and the overall economy is finally showing remarkable improvement. Locally, the purchase of our two local ski resorts by corporate investors from Mammoth Mountain has fueled speculation of significant development and improvements to the Big Bear community.
Overall, it was great to see another step in the right direction in 2014 and I'd expect the positive trend in Big Bear real estate to continue in 2015.