The overall Big Bear real estate market showed definitive signs of rebounding in October with increases across all significant price measures.

When comparing Big Bear home sales this October to last October, the average price increased from $206,000 to $236,000 for a 15% rise in values while the median rose from $158,000 to $163,000 representing an increase of 3%. The average and median price per square foot of sold Big Bear homes rose from $135 to $150 and $127 to $145, representing increases of 11% and 14% respectively.

Furthermore, the average days that a property was on the market before selling dropped from 114 days last October to 100 days this October. As well, sellers conceded 7% off their list price on average last year compared to just 4% this year. This suggests that homes are selling quicker and at values closer to the seller's list price.

As far as Big Bear home buyer activity is concerned, there were 91 sales last October which increased to 122 sales this October. This represents a 34% increase in number of homes sold! Meanwhile, inventory continues to drop radically as there are currently only 416 Big Bear homes for sale, down from an average of about 758 homes last October. Keep in mind that there were over 1400 Big Bear homes for sale in 2009!

With only 416 homes on the market and with there being 122 sales this month, there is less than a 3.5 month supply of homes. This is remarkably lower than the statewide average home supply from last October of 9 months.

But there's more good news! Mortgage rates remain staggeringly low. This weeks national average for a 30 year fixed conventional mortgage was 3.49%. With interest rates at historical lows and the Big Bear real estate market having turned the bottom, this appears to be an extremely advantageous and opportunistic time to buy a home in Big Bear!

This is the first month-to-month comparison in which every single market factor shows improvement. With the underlying market fundamentals showing strength, I would imagine values will improve steadily through 2013. Of course, no one can predict the future. But it sure does seem like Big Bdear real estate has finally turned the corner and is perhaps ready to resume more predictable annual growth.