It's hard to believe that 2012 has past the half-way point. Let's take a look at the first 6 months of real estate sales and how they compare to years past.

 

Number of Sales

So far in 2012, there have been 348 sales - 15% more than the previous year. You would have to go back 6 years to find a busier first half of the year. The number of Big Bear home sales trending upward bodes well for the local real estate market. Take a look at the graph below to see a five year history of first half sales.

 

Average and Median Prices

Compared to 2011, this year has seen a slight increase in the average sales price. The median price however has seen a 5.8% drop. Over the past five years, you can see the trend in the graph below showing the market stabilization that Big Bear real estate has been waiting for.

Avg and Med Prices of Big Bear Homes

 

 

Average and Median Price Price per Square Foot

Comparing the first six months of Big Bear home sales, the average and median price per square foot both continue to fall. Although the declines are not nearly as steep as they were 5 years ago, the price per square foot values continue to drop.

Avg and Median Price Per Square Foot of Big Bear Homes

 

Days on Market

The median days on market (DOM) of Big Bear homes rose slightly in 2012 to 80 days. Still lower than 3 of the last 5 years, the days on market shows relative overall market stability.

Big Bear Days on Market

 

Summary

With sales over the first 6 months of 2012 the highest they've been in 5 years, and with average sale and medan sale prices of Big Bear homes appearing to stabilize, there is evidence that we may be near the market bottom we've been waiting for. Yet the average and median price per square foot of sold Big Bear homes are still slowly declining leaving some doubt as to whether we might not quite have hit bottom yet.