Like most items bought and sold, there are traditional busy seasons and slow seasons depending on what is being sold. Up here in Big Bear, it's busy season for selling skis in the winter and selling bikes in the summer. When looking at Big Bear home sales, we see similar predictable trends in buyer activity on an annual basis.
The figure below shows a 10 year trend of Big Bear home sales broken down by number of homes sold per month.
When reviewing this graph, keep in mind that this information represents the sold date of Big Bear homes. On average, a typically home will be in escrow for approximately 45 days. So as far as buyer traffic and when offers are being made, you have to look back a month or two.
Considering this, you will see that July and August are by far our busiest months for buyers to make offers and to open escrow on properties. It is in August and September that these homes then close. You will also note that sales of Big Bear homes stay quite strong heading into the winter months. This is due to an overlap of late summer buyers and those anticipating being in a home for the upcoming winter season.
With the busiest time of year right around the corner, we should soon see an increase in homes going into escrow leaving fewer Big Bear homes for sale left on the market to choose from. If you're looking to buy a home in Big Bear, keep this in mind as homes will likely spend fewer days on market and sell for closer to list price due to the increased demand.