Same Month Comparison - Comparing Sales from March 2017 to March 2018

This March saw a continuation of the trend we've seen over the last few months as sales of Big Bear homes were down while home prices continued rising significantly.

Sales slid from 107 closings last March to 97 this March representing a 13% drop in sales.

Meanwhile, the average and median sales prices both rose 13% to $356,696 and $300,000 respectively. The average and median price per square foot of sold Big Bear homes rose 16% and 20% to $246 and $239.

Unfortunately, the Days On Market - the number of days a home was listed before going into escrow - rose significantly from 97 to 129. I am guessing this jump is just a blip in the data for this month and not a longer term trend.

Year-To-Date Comparison - Comparing Sales from January 1st Through March 31st in 2017 to those in 2018

Comparing the last 3 months of sales, closings are down 11.5% this year. This is likely due to the poor snow year we had and the resulting decline in visitors to the valley. Fewer vacationers means fewer people who get interested in buying a Big Bear home which means fewer Big Bear home sales.

But not unlike the March same month comparison, prices saw impressive double digit appreciation over last year.

The average and median sales prices rose 11% and 17% to $350,633 and $295,500 while the average and median price per square foot rose 16% and 13% to $239 and $228 respectively.

The Days On Market dropped from 109 days to 100 days while the average sales price to list price ratios stayed steady around 97%-98%, showing that sellers typically conceded 2%-3% during negotiations.

Market Summary and Outlook

With sales dipping and interest rates rising about .5% from this time last year, you might have expected home value gains to level off. But Big Bear home prices once again showed double digit jumps as the strong national and Southern California economies are fueling market gains.

I am keeping an eye on the number of home sales moving forward. It will be interesting to see if home sales recover as summer approaches. Otherwise, the market remains strong with no signs of slowing down over the foreseeable future.