With all the positive news on the national, regional, and local levels about the incredible recovering real estate market, I feel that many people are losing perspective as to what gains real estate has really made since the market hit bottom. Yes, homes sales and prices have rebounded far quicker than anyone expected. But when you compare the recent gains to the extent to which the market declined over the past 7 years, you'll see we still have a long way to go towards a full recovery.
Take a look at these quarterly numbers showing price measures of Big Bear homes from the height of the real estate market in 2006/2007 until present:
When you look at the extent to which prices have fallen since 2006, you can see that the recovery we've experienced since 2011 has resulted in a relatively small rebound considering what peak home values once were.
Don't get me wrong - I believe that the market turn-around is 100% real and deserves the excitement it is getting. But there are two points to be made in reference to these graphs.
#1 - The market is not back to where it once was. Due to the overwhelmingly positive real estate news, many home sellers think that values are back to where they were at their peak. This is far from true. Values declined about 50% from their peak in 2006/2007 and have climbed back about 10%-15% towards that peak. But prices are still well behind what they once were.
#2 - The market has a long way to go to get back to peak prices. Being that we are still near the bottom of the market, it is a great time to buy a home in Big Bear! Not very many people were lucky enough to buy a home right at the market's bottom. The next best thing is buying close to that bottom. With so much positive news and strong market numbers, now is a great time to take advantage of what will likely be seen as one of the best times to invest in real estate from an historical perspective.