Wondering if we have SNOW? WE DO! There is so much that there is about a 14' wall of snow piled up all along the parking lot at Stater Brothers. The wall of snow beside my own front walk is about 4' high and rising. It is a miracle of white stuff. It can be measured in dollars in our town because it brings tourists, weekend cabin owners and much needed water for the lake. It couldn't be more appreciated!

Real estate was slow over the holiday weekend because it snowed most of that time. The snow will bring buyers next weekend and sales will resume. The interest rates remain down so that will be helpful.

I just read an article about why buyers buy cabins and homes. I was surprised to read that interest rates have little to do with the buying decision. Most buyers buy because of the following: addition to family, divorce, inheritance, promotion, transfer, retiring, at the age for a second home, etc. The interest rate was last on the list. Right now interest rates are at about a fifty year low and it certainly can reduce your payment. However, other forces than interest rates seem to drive the market.

Currently prices are low as well as interest rates which should encourage buyers to buy! As I have said before if you plan to keep the cabin you buy in Big Bear for five to ten years the price you pay now is not that important. If it is a few dollars higher than you wanted to pay it is really meaningless if you plan to keep the cabin five or more years. With average appreciation about 6% a year you will make money on the cabin down the road. It is one of the best ways to build wealth. If you rent the property it gets even better with the tax benefits.

There are so many possibilities. Now is such a great time to invest in real estate because fewer people are buying. Why, because they are afraid. It is that old herd mentality...do what the herd is doing. The herd misses many opportunities. The time to buy is when everyone else is selling and the time to sell is when everybody is buying! That is from Warren Buffet, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki! I think they know what works!

I want to mention two listings I have that I think are good deals. One is a 2 bedroom, one bath with fireplace and laundry plus a guest house in the rear with a bath and semi-kitchen. Priced at $79,900 and it is bank owned.

The other property is an almost new 2 bedroom, 2 bath, fireplace, laundry room and walk-in pantry. It is priced at $164,900. Both are excellent values in today's market. If you would like other information please call us or e-mail. Until next time, BB

If you planned to come up to Big Bear for this holiday weekend...the snow is still here! There is lots and lots of it! This will be a very busy weekend for our valley. It is a beautiful time of the year and the snow just adds to it.

Let's talk real estate! Did you know that real estate generally doubles every ten to twelve years in most metropolitan areas? It's true! In the 1920's Colonial homes on Long Island, New York sold for a little less than $2,500. Values have doubled almost eight times since then. That figures out on average to a 100% increase every ten years.

However, about every ten to twelve years values in real estate must correct before the "doubling cycle" can begin again. The correcting is not a matter of "if" but a matter of WHEN! Do you remember in the later half of the 1980's that real estate doubled in value? Then in the 1990's there were five to seven years that prices fell 20% to 30%. That was the correcting cycle at work.

What happened next...the real estate prices doubled again! We are just now coming off that doubling cycle and are in the corrective mode. History shows us that we will have several years of correcting and then values will again double down the road. Do you still think you should wait to buy? Would you like to buy your parents home for what they paid for it? I paid $19,800 for my first house. It would probably sell for the mid $500,000's today. Was that a good investment? You bet it was! But you have to be a player in the game, and until you buy, you aren't a player!

Have you ever heard the saying "If it bleeds, it leads"? The media loves to print negative news because people read it! The upheaval in real estate is a perfect example. The headlines are all gloom and doom about housing. But the statistics don't lie. As you read above real estate values do double every ten to twelve years. The last time I remember the same kind of houses news was in the 1990's when the saving and loan scandal brought foreclosures and falling prices. It sounds a whole lot like what we are hearing today. Just new names and faces but the same correcting is in air. Once this period is behind us the market will begin its doubling again. You ask why? Because the population is expected to double by 2050 and there is no more of mother earth, that's all she wrote. So, property will continue to be at a premium. We are so totally involved and consumed in this current real estate downturn as if this is the first time we have seen such a market. This is nothing more than another tick mark in the real estate cycle. Real estate will continue to rise and fall in its standard way. We are the ones that must learn to control our emotions and go with the flow. The flow is a doubling of values every ten to twelve years on average. In stead of wringing your hands ride with the cycle knowing that the next cycle will put money in your pocket!

Will your net worth rise with the next cycle? Will you allow real estate to be your catalyst?

Until next time, BB

Yesterday, I sat at my desk looking out the window and watching it SNOW! It came down at a forty-five degree angle from west to east. It penetrated everything. The pine needles on the trees were packed with the white stuff. Every crack and crevasse around the building was filled with snow. The big redwood across the street was almost weeping. It is hanging so low from the weight of all that snow. It was truly beautiful and a work of art of mother nature.

Today, the sun is brightly shinning and it is very cold. Everything is still and stands layered in millions of snow flakes. The snow is once again studded with little diamond crystals that glissen in the sun. None of this will last long so you have to capture the moment. Once the plow boys are out the snow will be hurled in all direction and the beauty will be lost.

I guess that is the excitement of living in the mountains...seeing all the changes. But daily life has to go on and the snow does have to be removed from the roads, driveways and cars. But that beautiful time when it does snow and before it is disturbed by the snow blowers is the most special time.

I hope you will be up soon to see what I mean.

Until next time, BB