By: Melissa McCue

Since 2008 many homeowners have delayed selling because, let’s face it, competing in a market flooded by distressed sales at rock bottom prices is certainly not ideal. Fortunately for homeowners, standard resales in the Big Bear area solidly represented the majority of transactions in 2012. 

The numbers are even more interesting when dissected by area, with SFR sales in Big Bear Lake (including Moonridge & Fox Farm) at almost 77% standard resale. As the number of distressed sales continues to decrease we should expect to see prices increase as they continue to become more driven by negotiations between buyer and seller, rather than being driven by lending institutions. California Association of Realtors Senior Analyst, Oscar Wei wrote that “REO properties are sold substantially below market price because they are generally not well-maintained, and may have title clearance issues that are not desirable to home buyers. Also, since banks and lenders are not in the business of property management, they try to get rid of the inventory faster by reducing prices to below-market levels.” 

Whether driven by the decrease in distressed sales or not, an increase in prices is already underway. The 2012 year end numbers showed a gain of 3.6% in median sales price in the Big Bear area. This is another piece of encouraging news, as it is the first price gain in the Big Bear area in five years.  

If you have been waiting to sell your home and think that now may be the time,  please contact Melissa McCue at (909) 855-4898.

By: Melissa McCue

One of the aspects of real estate that I enjoy most is working with buyers. It is a really gratifying experience to learn to understand a person or family’s needs and tastes, and in the meantime to get to know them, not as clients, but as people. There is a feeling  of excitement for me when I am previewing houses for a particular buyer and I walk into a home that I know they will love, I can’t wait to share it with them! There is a feeling of happiness when we are walking through houses together and start to relax the business formalities and share stories and laughs that are personal and fun, they may not seem pertinent to the task of buying a home but they are to me, they give that task context and meaning. 

The reason I am rambling on about how much I love working with buyers in a blog post that is just as much for sellers is because I’m trying to add some of that same meaning and context. I would like to begin to share some things that are important or meaningful or funny to me, just as I would with buyers. 

My story this time involves the moon and my six year old daughter. This past month my daughter and I were driving and caught a glimpse of the rising moon and she really wanted to take a picture of it. Later that evening we got out the camera and tripod, bundled up, and journeyed all the way to the street in front of our house. As we adjusted the camera settings and took various shots we both became more and more excited at the results. I snapped a good shot and as the image flashed onto the viewfinder, her eyes, face and whole being lit up with a smile as bright as a moonbeam. That moment and the look on her face is burned into my memory, who needs to stop and smell the roses when you have the moon and stars.