In regards to my last post regarding July's Big Bear real estate numbers, a reader asked that I not only do same month comparisons and year-to-date comparisons, but also suggested comparing to the previous month. Although sales tend to be seasonal for Big Bear homes, looking at consecutive months does have its merit. So why not?
There were 98 homes in Big Bear that sold in June compared to 97 in July, resulting in no statistically significant change.
The average price of a sold Big Bear home in June was $223,151 whereas July's was $219,327. Average price remained basically the same. The median price dropped from $179,550 to $156,750 representing an approximate decline of about 12%.
The average price per square foot in June was $148 while July's was $144 for a slight but insignificant decrease. The median price per square foot of a Big Bear home stayed steady at $142 from June to July.
So on a consecutive month comparison, some price measures fell slightly. But overall these declines were not signifcant.
What is significant is seeing the number of sales staying strong. Both June and July's sales were over 50% higher than the same month from the previous year. At the current pace, we will see about a 30% increase in the number of Big Bear home sales this year. With increasing sales and decreasing inventory coupled with historically low interest rates, many are making the case that now is the time to buy if you've been trying to predict the market's bottom.