Yesterday, I posted a month-to-month comparison for the month of April. Let's now compare what the market has done since January 1st through the end of April this year as compared to that same time period in 2013.
As mentioned yesterday, the number of sales of Big Bear homes are down significantly due to the poor winter we had. No snow equals no visitors. Estimates have been made that suggest that we had 40% fewer visitors this winter due to lack of snow. Being that the majority of our sales are vacation home buyers, it makes sense we would see a slide in homes sold. Not surprisingly, sales were down from 345 Big Bear homes sold last year to 281 this year for a drop of almost 20%.
That being said, all four major price measures have risen since 2013.
The average and median sales prices are up 7% and 6% to $264,618 and $187,000 respectively from 2013. Meanwhile the average and median price per square foot are up 15% and 19% to $178 and $171 currently. The DOM (days on market) has stayed steady with it taking an average of 110 days for a Big Bear home to sell. As well, the average sales price to list price ratio stayed steady at 97%.
One other market trend that has taken a new turn is the number of Big Bear homes for sale. Last April, there were an average of 400 homes on the market while this April averaged 460. This rise in home inventory can be explained by the lack of sales this winter. With 64 fewer sales this winter as compared to last year, the resulting homes that did not sell have remained on the market pushing inventory higher.
Ultimately, I expect to see sales get back on track this summer and sales to pick up substantially. Interest rates have remained low and the market values still show signs of stability.