Big Bear STR Market

[Tate Shadbourne]

Considering investing in a STR in the Big Bear, CA area this year. I am looking for realtor recommendations in the area? Especially someone that works with investors!

Would also love to hear any tips/thoughts/success (or not success) stories from people that have invested in that area. 

Thanks in advance!

[Matt Pich-Maxon]

I saw a news blurb recently that was attributed to Zillow which said their metrics had Big Bear:

...As the “most popular vacation town.” The city, which has one of the highest numbers of homes classified as secondary or vacation homes, boasts plenty of outdoor amenities such as lakes and mountain trails.

https://www.rgj.com/story/news...

So, quit a few STR's do exist, some folks in Big Bear Lake are apparently posting signs that say "Neighborhoods Need Neighbors" because, and I'm paraphrasing here, they no longer have neighbors, only STR's. I've had 6 pop up in my neighborhood over the last year, when before, none existed that were registered.

As a full-time resident for the past few years (I moved up here in 2017) I have 0 concerns so far with having STR's as neighbors. Only positive experiences.

3 of the houses that were sold were in disrepair (some significantly) and are now nicely remodeled. No more piles of trash and junk in the yards. Which I am happy about as that directly impacts the value of my home in a positive way.

Big Bear has 2 governing agencies. Big Bear Lake, with a mayor and board. The rest of Bear Valley is in unincorporated San Bernardino County. It depends on your goals and needs, however, you may want to think about the unincorporated areas for investment if you are considering utilizing the property to get away from the crowds. I had one colleague visit from OC and he did not enjoy the traffic and hustle and bustle of The Village. He was stuck in traffic and amongst crowds, which he was trying to get a break from.

I know folks who were dead set on buying in Moonridge, The Village, or Boulder Bay...and that's it. Yet they ended up buying in a nice quiet area with great access to hiking and biking. Much like my colleague, they also did not enjoy driving through the downtown on a Friday and Saturday (I avoid on the weekend whenever possible).

The market here has great opportunity as approximately 20 million people live close by. Google maps says you can get to Santa Monica in about 2.5 hours without traffic. If you time it right, that is accurate.

I see a lot of folks up here from San Diego, OC, LA, Oxnard and even quite a few folks with Nevada plates too.

So there is the potential for an extremely large population to draw from for owners of STRs. And in comparison to a lot of SoCalm, this area is still relatively affordable it seems.