Comparing February 2018 to February 2017, Big Bear home sales slid about 11% with 66 closings last month. Most attribute this slow down to the lack of snow and consequent drop in visitors to the Valley this winter. However, in spite of sales being slower, prices showed strong gains.

In a February same-month comparison, the average and median sales prices were up 17% and 28% to $372,421 and $330,500 while the average and median prices per square foot were up 17% and 14% to $240 and $225. If these numbers seem too good to be true, it's because they probably are not telling the whole story. As I have mentioned in previous posts, in our slowest months there are so few sales that a few very high-end sales or low-end sales might sway the numbers too sharply in one direction or the other.

So let's look a a year-to-date comparison looking at sales from January and February of this year and comparing to that same time period from 2017. By adding more sales, the numbers should become more "realistic" in regards to growth.

When doing so, we see that sales are still down 10% so far this calendar year with 140 closings. The average and median Big Bear home prices show a 10% and 12% appreciation to $346,606 and $279,500 respectively. The average and median price per square foot also rose 12% and 14% to $234 and $226. This double digit annual appreciation seems to be a more realistic reflection of what's going on in the Big Bear real estate market.

Both sets of numbers show that Big Bear homes prices are continuing to appreciate at a healthy pace. 

Looking at other indicators, the average Days On Market has risen slightly from 104 last year to 117 this year while the average sale price to list price ratio has stayed about the same at 97.43%. The stability of these numbers is a good sign for the market.

Following interest rates, we have seen about a .5% rise over the last few months. Being that we're still at incredibly low rates in the mid 4% range, I don't think the slowly rising interest rates have had a big effect on the market to this point.

Lastly, perhaps the healthiest sign in today's market is the incredibly low inventory of Big Bear homes for sale. Currently in the Big Bear MLS, there are only 280 home listings. To put this in perspective, the figure below shows a short history of inventory.

Big Bear Home Inventory

With inventory so low, buyers compete to buy listings thus driving prices higher. Coupled with decent interest rates and a strong economy, things are looking good for the Big Bear real estate market in 2018.