As mentioned previously, the real estate market for Big Bear in 2007 will go down as the the slowest year for sales over the last 20 years.

In particular, vacant land has appeared to have the biggest drop off in sales activity as compared to single family homes. Each neighborhood in Big Bear is unique and is a special niche. But, the vacant lots that used to fly off the market just a few years ago in areas like Meadowbrook Estates, Castle Glen, Eagle Point Estates, and lakefront properties are now sitting on the market for 6-12 months or more with sales prices dropping nearly 30% or more.

The number of sales in all of Big Bear for vacant land has dropped pretty consistently the past five years. There were over 602 sales in 2003 and only 182 in 2007 (we still have a day left this year but I don’t think that will change much). That is nearly a 70% drop in sales activity for vacant land in the Big Bear area.

Interestingly enough, the average selling price has been steadily climbing up the past 5 years. As more of the properties that have been on the market for while start selling, this should reflect a more true picture of the pricing. Look for the average sales price to drop a bit in 2008 as a reflection of this.

The average days on the market is now 122 days, up from 76 days last year. This can vary from area to area as well. Keep in mind that this number is only for the properties that are selling. As with the average price, I believe this number will change in 2008. The days on the market should go up a lot higher as there are many properties that have been sitting on the market for a year or more. When, and if, they finally do sell, that average days on the market is bound to increase.

If you have a vacant lot in Big Bear and are considering selling, make sure to look at the comparable sales numbers as they relate to your property. It is especially important to look at the last few months as these are the most comparable prices a buyer is willing to pay in the current real estate market.

If you need any help, feel free to contact me.

There are often two sales that need to occur before you can sell your Big Bear property. The first sale does not occur with the buyer. Rather, it starts with the real estate agents who are working with the buyers in the area. If the real estate agents in your area are not sold on the property you are trying to sell, then chances are you will have a hard time getting the property sold.

One of the many benefits of the MLS cooperation is the ability for all the agents to share information on the properties they are trying to sell. With over 300 agents in the Big Bear MLS, there is a strong sales force helping each other sell the properties in our area. But, with more than 1,600 properties currently on the market in Big Bear, you only have a short period of time to make a first impression on the agents. If a lot of the agents are not sold on your property, how hard do you think they are going to work to sell it?

One of the best ways to sell the agents in your area is by pricing the property correctly from the start. Similar to the saying in Kevin Costner’s The Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come,” if you price a property correctly, they (agent showings, buyers, & offers) will come. There is not any way around that.

Another added benefit to an agent pricing the property correctly is that the other agents in the area will start to notice. When an agent gets a reputation of pricing properties correctly, as soon as they put a new listing on the market, there is already be a built in impression that the property is priced correctly. This makes the job of selling the other real estate agents that much easier.

I am a firm believer that the listing agent’s job is not to sell your property, it is to get the property sold. There is a difference between the two. If they happen to be the one that sells it as well, great. But that only happens a small amount of the time. How the listing agent goes about getting your property sold is up to them, but selling the other real estate agents in the area on the property’s price, features, and benefits should be one of the top items in their marketing plan.

The next time you think about selling, or why your property is not selling, you need to make sure that the first sale is made.

Best wishes to everyone this holiday season. I am looking forward to seeing you all up here this ski season.

Below are a picture of my office at Coldwell Banker, Mountain Gallery Realtors and one of the Snow Summit ski area. These were taken this past week by an associate from my office, Chris Atkins.

I am not sure what Zillow would say about this property but I am pretty sure they would think it tastes good.

Even though it lacks the basic utilities and running water, this Big Bear gingerbread house has its own unique benefits.

The roof is new and made of necco and chocolate which might be more fire resistant that wood shakes. The siding is made of gingerbread and almonds for that stone look. There are twix corbels, an oreo cookie pavered walkway, fencing made of pretzels, and a sugar pond stocked with cheese goldfish. The exterior lighting is made of candy cane light poles along with a mixture of M&M’s and red hots along the eaves.

I am open to some comparables if anyone can provide them. If there is a Realtor out there who specializes in selling gingerbread houses, maybe you can help?

I specialize in the sale of real estate in the Big Bear Lake area. Let me know if I can be of assistance to you this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

I use Zillow all the time. Given that they have 3-4 million visitors per month, putting my listings on Zillow is smart thing to do. I also mouse around from time to time to see anything new like the Q&A’s, Make Me Move’s, and other listings for sale.

I have been saying for a while that Zillow’s Zestimates can be very inaccurate when it comes to valuing properties in the Big Bear Lake area. This is certainly nothing new as there are many articles out there about this. This fact has never been more true than when using Zillow to put values on the lakefront properties in Big Bear. The valuation tool Zillow uses does not appear to have any way of knowing that properties on the water and will have a higher value than those properties in the immediate area that are not on the water.

I recently posted a lakefront home for sale at 779 Cove Dr. in Big Bear Lake. Initially, the price was set at $1,499,000. Zillow’s Zestimate was approximately $400,000 for this property. We reduced the price to $1,375,000 and then sold for $1,300,000 on 11/15/2007, about 92 days total on the market. Zillow’s value has now jumped over $800,000 in the last month to a total of $1,202,000.

My point here is not meant to bash Zillow. As I stated before, I think there are many great benefits Zillow can offer real estate agents and consumers in Big Bear. But, using Zillow to price your property in Big Bear can be like pulling a number out of a hat. More times than not, the number you come up with will be the wrong one.

A better way to find out the value of your Big Bear home is to have an experienced, professional real estate agent give you a market evaluation. A real estate agent who has been in the business a while and knows the values in your neighborhood or, as with Big Bear lakefronts, your type of property. You can also hire a local appraiser if you want to spend $400 to $500 on that.

Zillow is a great advertising site and that is it. When it comes to the pricing properties in the Big Bear area, they need to leave it to the experts.

The number of properties sold in Big Bear in 2007 will end up being the lowest amount in more that 20 years. We still have about 10 days left to go but I think it is safe to come out and claim this at this point. Click here to see the sales numbers (courtesy of our local First American Title rep Susanne Saderup).

The previous low was in 1993 when we had 1,390 sales. As of December 1, 2007 there were 961 total sales in the Big Bear Lake area. I am expecting the final number for 2007 to be close to 1,050 total sales, off by nearly 24% from the 1993 number. Keep in mind that these numbers include all real estate sales in Big Bear: residential, vacant land, commercial, business, & government leases. It would be my educated guess at this point that vacant land sales have been hit the hardest and I will post on this later.

While the average price in Big Bear has remained somewhat static over the past couple years, we have definitely seen a large drop in sales. The number of sales recently peaked out at 2,803 sales in 2002 (the highest number of sales was 2,851 in 1989) and has being coming down since. There was a significant drop off in sales the past two years. As compared to 2002, the market this year is off by more than 62% and over 31% compared to 2006.

What does this mean for you? If you are trying to sell a home in Big Bear, you will need to keep these numbers in mind. The days of selling a home in 30 days or less are in the past. Realistic pricing and top notch marketing are the key ingredients to making a property stand out and getting it sold. If you are a motivated buyer, there are some great options to be had. Take your time and look around online. When you are ready to buy, make sure to work with an agent who knows the inventory for sale in Big Bear. Using a knowledgeable, professional real estate agent in the Big Bear area will help save you time and money.

How long is this market going to last? I don’t think anyone knows for sure but we will continue to monitor the numbers and report back to you.