Homes sold in Big Bear YTD 2008 vs 2009 I can show you any home for sale in Big Bear. Search the Big Bear MLS (Multiple Listing Service) Search the Southern California MLS  (Multiple Listing Service) Steve Hirschler Associate, The Tim Wood Group Coldwell Banker Mountain Gallery 42153 Big Bear Blvd. P.O. BOX 6820 Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 stevehirschler@gmail.com 909 866-3481 EXT. 217 CELL 909 725-5889 Fax 909 866-3531 http://www.stevesellsbigbear.com Follow me on Twitter Subscribe to "Ask an Expert, Big Bear Real Estate Blog 03/24/2009

Originally Posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com With all the fervor over bank owned properties, it is sometimes easy to overlook homes listed by an actual homeowner. This can be a big mistake. If the homeowner in question is savvy on market conditions and has a good Realtor to advise them, traditional listings can be just as much of a bargain as an REO. Case in point is this home on 385 Glenwood, located in The Castle Glen area of Big Bear Lake. This home is a true beauty. It is full log construction and backs to wide open eagle preserve. The home is 2,200 square feet and sits on an oversized 15,300 foot lot. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a detached two car garage. All for only $599,900. Believe me when I tell you, there are bank owned homes in worse condition and lesser set... 03/24/2009

                                Total Residential (excluding bank owned)                          Bank Owned Current  Inventory (total # of units)             846                                                     52           Pending (inescrow)                                        75                                                      51 Sold (ytd through 3/23/09)                            74                                                      68 Days on the market                                     192                                                    70 Price Differential % (list vs. purchase)         95.02%                                            89.62% Bank Owned Properties make up 5.79% of the total inventory in Big Bear. Bank Owned Properties are 40% of the pending sal... 03/23/2009

By Joe Pecoraro The bank owned properties in Big Bear just keep on coming.  We are now starting to see  properties in the more exclusive neighborhoods of Big Bear Lake.  Even a couple lake front properties have become REO listings.   These five properties are all in great locations and priced well.  One of the properties is a lake front and two are in the exclusive Fox Farm area.  I only picked properties in the Big Bear Lake part of the valley for this blog.  Big Bear Lake includes: Big Bear Lake (East, West and Central) Fox Farm, and most of Moonridge. 42592 PEREGRINE AVENUE- This is a great little ski cabin.  It is technically a 1 bedroom but does include a bedroom size loft that has a closet.  It is located in Lower Moonridge between the Big Bear Mountain Ski Resorts.  The property ... 03/23/2009

Home buyers in California can enjoy up to $18,000 in tax credits - MarketWatch. This is great news for buyers and builders in the Big Bear area and the state of California.  This tax credit is available for full time principal residences. Currently in Big Bear we have 75 homes that are new or under construction in the Big Bear area that may qualify for this credit. More information on this tax credit Steve Hirschler Associate, The Tim Wood Group Coldwell Banker Mountain Gallery 42153 Big Bear Blvd. P.O. BOX 6820 Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 stevehirschler@gmail.com 909 866-3481 EXT. 217 CELL 909 725-5889 Fax 909 866-3531 http://www.stevesellsbigbear.com Follow me on Twitter Subscribe to "Ask an Expert, Big Bear Real Estate Blog" Previously posted on "Ask An Expert, Big Bear Real Estate" 03/07/2009

I am making this post as a word of warning to the buyers and sellers out there. Just because the lender assures you everything is okay, don't take their word for it. A deal can go south at any time. Most times, at the last minute. You have your buyers ready to sign docs and WHAMO! The underwriter just torpedoed the whole thing. In most cases your buyer probably has spent hundreds of dollars on home inspections and related items. The seller may have spent thousands of dollars doing repairs and getting termite work done. When the lender pulls the plug, it can create massive problems. A perfect example of this happened to me today. I have the buyer and seller on a short sale property here in Big Bear. Typically, the bank that holds the note is a major hurdle in a short sale transaction. Su... 03/05/2009

Bank Owned Bank Owned These are the 5 new bank owned properties that came on the market this week in Big Bear. The first home 1005 Sequoia is located in Big Bear City and sold for $265,000 in June of 2006. The second home 154 Poplar is located in Fox Farm and sold in June of 2005 for $349,900. The forth home is located in Erwin Lake and sold for $237,900 in Sept of 2004. As you can see, prices on these homes are aggressive and the banks want to move them. I have access and can show you any home in Big Bear, regardless of the listing agent.   Search all Big Bear Bank Owned Homes Steve Hirschler Associate, The Tim Wood Group Coldwell Banker Mountain Gallery 42153 Big Bear Blvd. P.O. BOX 6820 Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 stevehirschler@gmail.com 909 866-3481 EXT. 217 CELL 909 725-5889 Fax 909 ... 02/27/2009

Sold through 2 24 2009 Big Bear homes sold year to date are up 59%. That is a good sign for the Big Bear Real Estate market. With 89 closed residential sales in 2009 compared to 56 closed during the same time in 2008 you could say the buyer's are jumping off the fence.   Sold through 2 24 2008 As you can see, the average price is down $83,179, from $379,079 in 2008 to $295,900 in 2009.  Interestingly. the highest price home sold in 2009 is $2,700,000 vs. $1,900,000 in 2008. The lowest price sold this year $26,000 is 1/4 of the low price in this period of 2008 $105,000. Price differential and days on the market remain relatively stable at 95 - 100% of list price and 140 -145 average days on the market for homes sold. I know you are hearing it from everyone, but it really is a good time ... 02/24/2009

1. Not every bank owned property is a great deal. They will at some point be a good deal, but if not priced correctly when listed initially it may take an agent or two before the price gets to the deal range. Some banks are not willing to listen to the listing agent and want to list at their price. Some have locations that are not a great deal for a vacation home or residence no matter what the price. At the right price everything is a deal, but maybe the deal doesn't fit for you. You have to ask yourself, Do I want the best deal or the best house?  2. Most are sold "AS IS". Contingency periods are often shortened to 10 days or less. This makes it difficult for buyers from out of the area to do the investigations that they would like. Natural Hazard Disclosures, preliminary title report... 02/22/2009

Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Monthly  Rank 10 Year Average 2009 % of  Average Jan 125 125 158 130 194 163 128 139 77 44 11 128 68 53% Feb 126 158 128 148 169 173 147 112 80 43 12 128   0% Mar 183 174 168 187 197 219 186 118 99 59 10 159   0% Apr 159 169 150 213 227 238 170 131 81 65 9 160   0% May 151 193 182 269 200 268 171 132 99 83 7 175   0% Jun 161 198 207 224 199 246 188 148 78 85 8 173   0% Jul 195 180 187 247 228 275 171 108 95 104 4 179   0% Aug 191 256 264 292 246 263 198 159 106 90 1 207   0% Sep 231 248 199 274 281 263 228 121 82 109 2 204   0% Oct 188 270 224 302 227 236 199 123 77 101 3 195   0% Nov 227 217 187 241 231 224 192 115 87 70 5 179   0% Dec 237 194 199 276 216 214 186 111 68 62 6 176   0% Total 2174 2382 2253 2803 2615 2782 2164 1517 1... 02/20/2009

  Today was the third winter storm that hit the San Bernardino mountains this season.  Snow levels dropped to 3,000 feet as we've had more than 2 feet of fresh powder.   Snow Summit and Bear Mountain welcome the snow along with many skiers and snowborders!!   Click here for a current snow report from Snow Summit's website.  R-2 restrictions are in effect, meaning all vehicles must have chains except those with four-wheel-drive and snow tires on all four wheels.  Be sure to check the updated road information here before driving up the mountain.        02/10/2009

Originally Posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com I just thought some folks would be interested in an update on what is going on with bank owned property in Big Bear Lake. Like every where else, Big Bear definitely has it's share of foreclosure woes and their impact on the market. But, not as bad as you might think. With some areas of San Bernardino County having as much as 50% of the listings being bank owned, we are not doing so bad at all. As a matter of fact, bank owned properties make up less than 10% of the listings in Big Bear. I checked our local MLS and this is what I found: 1) There are currently 956 homes listed for sale on our MLS. 2) Of the 956 homes listed for sale, only 77 of them are bank owned listings. A little over 12%, a far cry from the 50% in other parts of the coun... 02/09/2009

The response below was posted on the local KBHR News, and is an accurate picture of the foreclosure statistics in the Big Bear Area. Big Bear as Foreclosure Alley? Not So, as Valley's Home Foreclosure Rate Is 8.5% February 5, 2009 by Catherine Sandstrom   Filed under Current News, Government On Wednesday's edition of the "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," Big Bear was erroneously singled out as the community with the highest rate of home foreclosures in the nation. Early in the news segment, NBC ran a video clip of mailboxes in Big Bear while the voiceover said, "This is Big Bear, California, part of what's come to be known as Foreclosure Alley in Southern California" and referenced the "nightmare of 700 foreclosures a day." Call it a syntax issue, but Big Bear is not known as Fore... 02/08/2009

-Joe Pecoraro Since two of the last three bank owned deals I wrote about are currently in escrow,I figured it was a good time to pick three others to share.  Just like last time, these cabins are all priced to sell.  In today's market aggressive pricing is the name of the game, if it is not priced right it won't sell. This weeks top Bank Owned Deals 42584 JUNIPER- For such a great street in the Fox Farm area, Juniper Drive is sure getting it's share of Bank Owned properties.  We had a Juniper property on the last list as well.  Counting this new listing  there are currently four bank owned listings on Juniper.  The other three are all currently in escrow and I see the trend continuing with this property.  The street and setting are just too nice for it to sit on the market for very long... 02/08/2009

I just wanted to take a moment to offer a word of warning to potential buyers that are getting ready to take the leap into buying a property in Big Bear Lake or elsewhere. In times past, it was commonplace for the seller to fix a certain amount of items in order to get the home sold. It seems like a wise move to spend a little, to sell the house and allow the transaction to go smoothly. Lately, this does not seem to be the case. With the big losses being suffered by home sellers these days, a tight fist has become the norm. For example, I just closed an escrow on a home here in Big Bear, where the seller refused to spend a single dime on repairs.  During the home inspection, we discovered both the spa and oven were inoperable. The estimate for repairs came in at over a thousand dollars... 02/02/2009

These are the Closed / Sold Residential Properties for the month of January in the Big Bear Area MLS. As you can see the price range was substantial.  Only five of the thirty nine sold were priced over $500,000. Average price differential (list vs. sold) is at 95.02%  valley wide.  Below is the break down for the different areas of Big Bear.   Big Bear City Big Bear Lake Erwin Lake and Meadowbrook Fawnskin Fox Farm   Moonridge Sugarloaf Whispering Forest With 10 of the 39 (25%) of the closings happening in the Moonridge Area of Big Bear, I would say that the buyers are voting with their dollars.       Steve Hirschler Associate, The Tim Wood Group Coldwell Banker Mountain Gallery 42153 Big Bear Blvd. P.O. BOX 6820 Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 stevehirschler@gmail.com 909 866-3481 EXT. 217 CE... 01/31/2009

If you are looking for a bank owned property in Big Bear, your in luck. We currently have lots active bank owned listings to choose from. There are new bank owned properties coming on the market daily. The best deals are selling in less than 30 days and for near list price, sometimes over list price. Bring your checkbook and make a trip up to Big Bear. The interest rates are low and opportunities are abundant. Steve Hirschler Associate, The Tim Wood Group Coldwell Banker Mountain Gallery 42153 Big Bear Blvd. P.O. BOX 6820 Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 stevehirschler@gmail.com 909 866-3481 EXT. 217 CELL 909 725-5889 Fax 909 866-3531 http://www.stevesellsbigbear.com   Subscribe to "Ask an Expert, Big Bear Real Estate Blog"    Originally posted on "Ask an Expert, Big Bear Real Estate Blog" 01/30/2009

The market is moving quickly. You can't wait and see what will happen. Your delay of the inevitable will cost you. Time is not on your side.Sell now, or don't. Don't think it will get better. Don't think that a buyer will fall in love with your house and pay more. It will not happen. Sell now, or don't. Prices are still moving down and buyers are thinking about every dollar. The  price six months from now is what they want to pay. They want to insulate themselves from the downturn. Sell now, or don't. Six months from now their will be more foreclosures and distressed properties on the market. You will then be faced with the nightmare off recalling the price you were offered six months ago, that hurts more than taking the offer you have now. Sell now, or don't.  Maybe this post should ha... 01/27/2009

I just went through a very frustrating experience and thought I would share it in the hopes it may help someone else. It has to do with the policy many banks have adopted of forcing a buyer to pre-qualify with the banks lender of choice before they can submit an offer. If you are not ready for this scenario, it could spell disaster. This weekend I showed property to a nice couple I have been dealing with for quite some time. They are well to do and seem like they should easily qualify. We found a really great bank owned home that they fell in love with. The home is owned by Countrywide and they demand that anybody who makes an offer has to be prequalified through Countrywide. I have encountered this before and was not surprised in the least. My clients were already preapproved through t... 01/22/2009

If you are one of the many buyers waiting for a good deal on a bank owned property in Big Bear, you probably know by now that you have to be quick with your offer to have a chance.Many times a property will get multiple offers the first couple days on the market.  If you think it is a deal, so do 100 other buyers waiting for such a opportunity.  So what can youdo to give yourself a better chance?  Be prepared and know what the banks are requiring these days before they even look at your offer. Most buyers and agents are aware that many banks have their own purchase contract.  This is one of the first places you can go wrong and waste time.  While it really is the agents responsibility to know what forms to use, sometimes they need a little reminder.  Some listing agents make it very cle... 01/09/2009