That is a very common question that I get from buyers who are looking to purchase a home in Big Bear.  It matters not whether it is a Seller's market or a Buyer's market, the question is asked.   I've even been asked if it is safe to figure on offering 30% less than the asking price, no matter what the property is or how long it has been listed for sale.

My answer to this question is this.  Every property is different and you need to look at all the data that you have in order to determine the value. 

A good example of what I am talking about is this.   You find the perfect home in Big Bear and you decide to make an offer.  You ask your Realtor how long the cabin has been on the market and you see that they have been trying to sell it for 270 days.  Just because the cabin has been on the market for 270 days doesn't mean that the current asking price isn't a good value.  In the 270 days that this cabin has been listed for sale, how many times has it had a price reduction?  What was the starting asking price? What are the neighborhood homes selling for?  Is the current asking price in line with current selling prices?  If the answer is that the asking price is probably very close to the value of the cabin. 

Other cabins come on the market and they are priced very aggressively from day one.  These homes are normally bank owned properties and the bank wants them gone.  Homes like these come up every now and then and if you want the home, you need to be ready to offer full price.  I know, you're thinking that he's crazy. No one offers full price in this market.  Just last week I wrote an offer for a client on a home that had been on the market for 72 hours.  My clients agreed that this house was listed at a good price and offered the bank full price for it.  You would think that they would now be in escrow but they're not.  The lost out on the house to an offer that was written for above the asking price.

When you find the cabin in Big Bear that you could picture yourself owning, look at all of the data that your Realtor can provide before making your offer.  Don't just assume that you're the only person out looking at property.