Sounds a lot like my post on September 23rd of this year.  The real scoop is getting out on Zillow.

NCRC charges Zillow with falsely representing to the public that its on-line valuations are within ten percent of the home selling price when the company really has "less than a 30 percent accuracy rate when offering the valuations for public consumption."

Click here to see the article.

I just reviewed an article by the National Association of Realtors that summarizes a recent survey that looked at the Baby Boomer generation and their housing needs.  Given that Big Bear Lake is a four season resort town located in the San Bernardino National Forest, just 2 hours from Los Angeles, our real estate market is directly effected by the purchasing trends of this generation.

Click here to review the article.

The article points out that the Boomers are typically working longer and waiting longer to retire and make their purchases.  I have found many of the buyers of Big Bear real estate are looking to retire in the next 5-10 years but ready to buy now and in the near future.  Many are looking for vacant land with the option of building in the future while some are ready to buy their retirement home now.  Either way, this article is encouraging news for the Big Bear real estate market.

Forecasting is difficult to get right.  Whether you are talking about forecasting the weather report or the real estate market, it is never 100% accurate.  It does, however, give one a good idea based on the reasonable probabilities.

I just got back from the October meetings for the California Association of Realtors which was located at the Long Beach Convention Center this year.  We have meetings three times a year but it is always at this time of year that we get the economic update and forecast from C.A.R.’s Chief Economist, Leslie Appleton-Young.  The last 5 years have been pretty much the same report, double digit appreciation rates in property values and a significant increase in the number of sales.  This year, however, the report is different.  She did not say the sky was falling but prices and the number of sales will be down. 

Click here to see the report summary from the California Association of Realtors.

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In today’s real estate market, there is no urgency to move quickly.

During the last 5 years, buyers had a sense of urgency to buy the property they were interested in.  If they did not move quickly, they risked the chance of someone else coming and buying the property or getting into a bidding war.  If they missed out, then they would have to wait and hope that a similar property came on the market for sale that was not drastically higher in price. 

Now that the active inventory levels have risen to levels 2-3 times that of the last 2 years, buyers seem to be holding off a bit, even when they find something they like.  I find they are doing this for several reasons:  1. They are hearing that the real estate market is slowing and now is not a good time to buy.  They are worried that if they buy now, prices will drop and then they will lose money.  2.  They think more options are going to come on the market and that may lead to lower prices or more motivation to sell for the people who are still on the market, thus they will be able to get a better price or at least more negotiations with the seller.

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