April 2014 To April 2015 Comparison
Not only were sales up from last April by 24%, but all four major price measures showed that the Big Bear real estate market has continued to show growth so far in 2015.
This April's jump to 94 home sales as compared to 76 closings last April is a distinct sign that buyer demand in the Big Bear home market remains quite strong. As a result, prices have continued to rise continuing the market's comeback from it's 2011 trough.
The average and median sale prices showed a 2% and 10% increase from last April now at $256,380 and $209,273 respectively. The average and median prices per square foot also showed improvement gaining 2% and 3% to their current measure of $178 and $168 respectively.
Days on market (DOM) did show an increase though, as homes were on the market longer before selling. In April 2014, the average and median time a home was on the market before selling was 95 and 43 days. This April, the average and median DOM were 123 and 83.
Year-To-Date Comparison
Looking at sales so far this calendar year, we also see all four price measures of Big Bear real estate appreciating as compared to the same time period in 2014.
The average and median sale price of Big Bear homes increased 9% and 22% to $287,684 and $228,500 respectively while the average and median price per square foot both showed a 6% increase.
Sales are up 10% on the year with 314 closings this year compared to 285 homes sold last year.
Not unlike the April comparison though, we see the days on market increase from 109 last year to 124 this year. The median DOM also rose slightly from 81 days to 91 days.
Summary
In many of last year's monthly comparisons, we saw the number of Big Bear home sale drop from the previous year. This was consistent with what was seen across the state of California as there was a leveling off from the unexpectedly strong market rebound.
This year's switch back to an increase in the number of home sales is a significantly positive sign. This increase in sales is likely attributed in part to the purchase of our local ski resorts by corporate investors from Mammoth Mountain. The assumption of significant improvements likely to be made to the local resorts and corresponding expansion of Big Bear's infrastructure likely brought out more buyers speculating that real estate values are likely to benefit from these changes.
Looking forward in 2015, signs are that Big Bear real estate will continue to show price gains as buyer demand is still high and inventory of Big Bear homes for sale has stayed relatively low. As we enter the summer, the time of year where we traditionally see interest in Big Bear real estate peak, I would expect to see the usual increase in prospective home buyers push prices higher as inventory gets bought up heading into autumn.