Home sales in Big Bear increased 28% in October 2008 as compared to the same month last year, but fell 11% from the September 2008 home sales number of 82. Though it is down, it was still the second best month for homes sales in Big Bear this year.

The median price for the homes sold was $255,000, up 12% from Sept. 2008 but down 18% from Oct. 2007. The median price has been quite sporadic the past 6 months, ranging between $205,000 to $290,000. With such a limited amount of sales, any slight variation can throw these numbers around.

There remains nearly $75,000 difference between the median asking price of $329,000 and the median sales price of $255,000.  Selling a home in this market still requires an aggressive price. If you are not priced aggressively, you will be one of the many others out there that are not selling.  With an average of 57 homes selling per month, and over 1100 for sale, that is less than 6% of the total inventory.  There is a lot of competition on the market.

Bank owned & short sale properties made up a significant amount of the home sales in Big Bear in October, even more than Sept. 2008. Out of the 73 homes sales, 17 (23%) of the them were bank owned while 4 (5%) were short sales.  That is a total of 21 homes, or 28% of the total sales in October, that were “distressed” sales.  While the bank owned properties may be driving real estate prices downward, there continue to be buyers ready & willing to jump on the opportunity to buy them.

A little perspective - given the economic turmoil of the past 45 days, these numbers are actually quite good all things considered. Better than the stock market did during the same time frame.

Big Bear Homes Sales - October 2008

Year to Date Sales (1/1/2008 - 10/31/2008)

Big Bear Home Sales - Year to Date Numbers

Though we have seen a pick up in sales over the past two quarters, the number of homes sold this year is still 99 (15%) behind the 2007 numbers. 2008 may go down as slowest year for sales in Big Bear in over 20 years.  The median sales price for 2008 is down 20% from the 2007 median, and the average sales price is down 20% from 2007 as well.

Year to date sales are off more than 63% from 2004 numbers though the median & average sales prices for 2008 are still higher than 2004 by 11% & 18% respectively. That is some good news to end with!

* Note: The charts above will be updated on a monthly basis. It represents single family home sales in the Big Bear area, including Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Moonridge, Fox Farm, Sugarloaf, Erwin Lake, & Fawnskin. Data courtesy of the Big Bear MLS. These numbers do not include raw land or condos nor does not include homes in the Big Bear MLS that are located out of the Big Bear area.

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Pricing a property in Big Bear is a lot different than your standard tract home or primary home location.

The fact is that the properties in Big Bear can be dramatically different, even when they are in the same location.

We have many areas with big homes next to small homes, old homes next to new homes, homes on the lake and homes off it, homes with ski slopes views and home with out a view.

There are very few locations that contain homes with a lot of commonality between them.  Areas with upscale, newer homes such as Castle Glen, Meadowbrook Estates, High Timber Ranch, Ironwood Estates, and Eagle Point Estates are the exception, not the rule.

Pricing a property in Big Bear is more about the local real estate market knowledge than it is looking at comparables on paper, on a computer, or how much it costs to replace it (replacement cost). It has a lot to do with following your “gut”, or intuition.

This is why no evaluation site, like Zillow & others, will ever replace a real estate agent.  They do not have the actual human experience or intuition that is necessary when pricing a property.

When you are talking about real estate, just like in life, your “gut” comes from experience. Typically, the more experience one has, the more they can rely on it.  Our “gut” tells us to do the right thing, and thus is not always the easiest to follow.

So, how does one come to price or value a typical property in Big Bear & where does my “gut” come into the equation?  Check out the video below for my thoughts on this.

Let me know what you think.

Like the video above?  Check out some of my other video posts.

It is no wonder why so many banks are failing these days.  They just do not seem to comprehend what is going on in the current real estate market. Here is a perfect example.

This property just came on the market for sale in the Moonridge area of Big Bear.

Listing price is $399,900, 3 bed, office, family room, & 2.5 baths.  It needs roughly $15,000 to $25,000 in finishing details to complete it.  The property is now bank owned.

Another Bank Screw Up

A little history on this property. I had it for sale from April to August of this year, listed initially at $525,000 but reduced to $475,000 about 30 days after hitting the market.  The property was a short sale as the owner owed $605,000 on the property.

We had a legitimate offer in mid July for $450,000, 20% down and a 30 day escrow.  The bank did not even counter this offer. Their main objection to the offer was that they had an appraisal from January of this year in the upper $600,000’s.

I emailed them recent comps to show they were way off base but it was wasted effort on my part.

Now, just a couple months later, and after having to take the property back at a $605,000 price, plus the cost of foreclosing on the previous owner, they put the property back on the market yesterday for $399,900.

I am not trying to sound like I have sour grapes because I missed out on the sale.  I just don’t understand how these banks make such financial decisions.  Can someone please explain what I am missing?

This is not an isolated incident.  I have seen it numerous times in the past year.

You hear all the news today about banks working with buyers & sellers but this is a perfect example of what is actually happening.  They just do not get it.  They are going to lose at least $50,000 from what they most likely would have received 3 months ago.

If you are looking to buy a home in Big Bear, this bank’s incompetence could be your gain.

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Every seller is looking for a way to get their home sold in this market.  With only 1 out of every 15-20 Big Bear homes selling every month, it is understandable to want to try every possible strategy.

One question that comes up a lot is whether to offer sales incentives to help entice more showings and a buyer.  The most common types of these incentives include a buyer’s agent bonus, raised selling commission, and the seller paying some closing costs for the buyer.

While offering sales incentives can help a property sell, it is not was causes the property to sell. It is putting the cart before the horse so to speak.

Here are some of my thoughts on this question.

Let me know what you think.

Like the video above?  Check out some of my other video posts.

Selling your Big Bear home in this market does not need to be any tougher. The real estate market conditions are scary enough these days.

So you can imagine my surprise when I went out on a listing appointment recently and the seller did not want to have their property listed on the open MLS. Nope, they just wanted me to know about the home, that they wanted to sell, and that they would pay me if I brought a buyer.

Their plan was to let 5-6 of the top agents in the area know about their intent to sell, offer them a higher than average buyer’s agent commission, and hope that they run into somebody that will want to buy.

While I was somewhat flattered to be of the the 5-6 agents they told, I think their strategy is not the best way to get their home sold. I understand that they are trying to save a couple percentage points on the commission, but for 1%, or roughly $13,000 (this was the difference), they could have the property listed in the MLS and have the full marketing force behind the sale. Seems to make a lot of sense to me. Seems like that additional 1% of money would be well spent.

There are over 350 real estate agents in the Big Bear MLS.  That is a huge sales force that will not know about the property.  How does that help you as a seller if you are not listed in it?

Let’s face it, the more people/agents that know about a property, the better the chances of the seller getting the price and terms they want.

It’s all about one’s motivation to sell.

I have said this in the past, if you absolutely do not have to sell your home, then right now is not the time to try. Why?  Because the price, terms, conditions, & frustrations of the current real estate market that you must accept will be unacceptable to you if you don’t have to sell.

In this case, one of the seller’s concerns was that they did not want to let a lot of people in neighborhood know that they are selling.  I consider this to be just one of the many sacrifices sellers have to make in this market if they want to sell.

They also did not want to lose any money on the sale.  Unfortunately, right now a lot of the people who are selling are losing money.  If you bought a property in Big Bear in the last 3 years and have to sell now, chances are you are going to lose money on the sale. It just is was it is.

It really all comes down to the motivation. If you are motivated as a seller you will do what is necessary to get the property sold. You have to right now.

I need every possible tool & advantage I can use right now to get a home sold. Hamstringing the sale in any way is counter productive.  In the end, this home will not get sold for top price in the quickest amount of time, if it sells at all.  Now that’s kinda scary!

Happy Halloween everyone.

This question brings up visions of a Geico commercial for me.

There is a school of thought out there that believe buyers can save money by purchasing a property directly through the agent who has the listing, otherwise called the listing agent. While that may be true in some circumstances, it is in fact not the case in most real estate transactions.  While I do not have empirical data to prove this statement, I do have the “working in the business” knowledge to support it.  It just does not happen all that often.

Most of time, the listing agent will not reduce their commission when they represent both parties.  They are doing double the work and have double the liability, not to mention the fact that they did their job: got the property sold.

Buyers need to know that their interest’s may not necessarily be best served by going directly through the listing agent. While the listing agent may have more knowledge about the property as well as have direct contact with the seller, a good buyer’s agent will typically do more due diligence on the property and protect a buyer’s interests.  A buyer’s agent is just that, they represent the buyer, not the seller.

So, unless you are a caveman, or if you are a curious buyer, you might want to consider some of the thoughts I have in the video below.

Like the video above?  Check out other topics I have Vlogged about.