Is an 8-Bedroom Big Bear Estate a Smart Short-Term Rental Investment?
An 8-bedroom, 6-bathroom estate in Big Bear listed at $899,000 — roughly $110,000 per bedroom — delivers 4,242 square feet of living space on an 18,778-square-foot cul-de-sac lot. It already has a short-term rental history, room to sleep 16-plus guests, a four-car garage, and a flat yard big enough for a pickleball or tennis court. For the right buyer, that combination is less a house and more a ready-made income property.
By Rachael Smith | July 26, 2026
Eight bedrooms for $8.99. That’s how this one starts, and it’s not a typo — this Big Bear estate is listed at $899,000, and when you do the math on eight bedrooms, you land at about $110,000 per bedroom.
You don’t find eight bedrooms on the market up here very often. So when one shows up on a quiet cul-de-sac with a proven rental past and a lot big enough to add a sport court, it’s worth slowing down and looking closely. Let me walk you through what this property actually is, who it’s built for, and the questions I’d want answered before making an offer.
What $899,000 Actually Buys
The home sits at the end of a cul-de-sac off San Martin Drive, tucked back on a wide, pie-shaped lot with what look like mostly full-time neighbors around it. That’s a nice balance — privacy for guests, but a real neighborhood feel.
Here’s the quick math on the property:
- 8 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
- 4,242 square feet of living space
- 18,778 square foot lot
- $899,000 list price — about $110,000 per bedroom
- Four-car garage with a workshop area
- Two sheds, both on concrete foundations
The prior owner ran it as a short-term rental, so the whole layout is set up for hosting rather than for a single family living day to day. Watch me lay out the specs at 0:38 and you’ll get a feel for the scale of it.
Practically speaking, this is a compound. The garage holds a massive laundry setup — the kind of operation you build when you’re turning over an eight-bedroom rental between guests. There’s guest laundry inside as well, plus a utility fridge and storage for the large appliances that a home this size runs through.
Layout: Built to Host 16-Plus Guests
The main level keeps the shared spaces together — kitchen, dining room, and living room all flow into one another, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms on that floor. The kitchen has granite counters, oak cabinetry, bar seating, and a second bar-top area, so you can seat a crowd and still see into the living and dining rooms. There’s even a “master master” on the main level with direct access to the back deck.
Downstairs is where the rental math really opens up: the remaining bedrooms, a second living room with a wood-burning stove, and a game room with a pool table. I break down the lot and the “compound” setup at 1:03.
Here’s a detail most buyers miss, and it’s one I always flag: seating. It’s easy to say “it’s a 16-person house” because it has the bedrooms. But a lot of large homes only have seating for five or six people in the common areas, and that kills the guest experience. This one doesn’t have that problem — the downstairs living room alone could comfortably seat 16, and there’s a pool table and a second lounge on top of that. When you’re pricing a large-group rental, the ability to actually gather everyone in one room is what earns the five-star reviews.
Throughout the house, the finishes stay consistent — the same granite runs from the kitchen into the bathrooms, and the flooring carries through instead of jumping between three different carpets and tiles. That consistency matters more than it sounds. It photographs better, it reads as intentional to guests, and it’s easier to maintain when every bathroom uses the same materials.
Want more Big Bear real estate insights like this? I break down large-group rentals, investment math, and full home tours every week on my YouTube channel. Subscribe here so you never miss a new listing walkthrough.
The Investment Case — and the Homework
An eight-bedroom home in Big Bear is a specific play. You’re not buying this as a starter cabin or a quiet weekend retreat — you’re buying scale. If you want to see how the smaller end of the market compares, my Big Bear City 3-bedroom tour under $370K is a useful contrast for thinking about price per bedroom and who each home actually serves.
What makes this one interesting on the numbers:
- Proven rental history. It already operated as a short-term rental, and I’ve requested the rental history so a buyer can underwrite it with real revenue instead of guesses.
- Turnkey potential. The furniture can be requested with the sale. When you’re furnishing eight bedrooms plus multiple living areas, buying it furnished can save you tens of thousands and weeks of setup.
- Amenities guests search for. A hot tub tucked under the deck — so nobody’s digging it out of the snow — a pool table, and multiple gathering spaces. These are the filters big groups actually use when they book.
- Room to grow. The lot is large and mostly flat, with space for a pickleball or tennis court. Adding a marquee amenity like that can lift both nightly rate and occupancy.
It’s about a 10-minute drive to town, which is a sweet spot for rentals — far enough back to feel like a getaway, close enough that guests aren’t making a project out of every grocery run. If proximity to the village is a priority for you, I go deeper on that trade-off in my guide on buying a Big Bear home minutes from town.
Now the honest part, because no property is perfect. The garage wasn’t shown on the tour since the owner is storing belongings in there, so a buyer will want to inspect that four-car space and the laundry operation directly. A couple of light fixtures weren’t working, there’s some cosmetic paint touch-up from years of guests coming and going, and one of the outdoor sheds could use a new footer. None of that is a dealbreaker on a home at this price point — but it’s exactly the kind of thing you build into your offer and your first-year budget.
If you’re weighing this against a smaller property that blends personal use with rental income, my walkthrough of a 3-level cabin that blends lifestyle and investment is a good companion read. Different buyer, different math — but the same discipline about underwriting the income before you fall in love with the layout.
Is This the Right Buy for You?
An eight-bedroom estate at $899,000 — around $110,000 per bedroom — is a rare listing in Big Bear, and the short-term rental history is what separates it from a home you’d have to prove out from scratch. If you’re an investor chasing large-group bookings, or a big family that wants a mountain compound everyone can share, this is the kind of property that’s worth touring in person.
The homes I sell up here move on the details — the seating, the rental history, the amenities guests actually filter for — and that’s exactly the lens I bring to every walkthrough on my channel. If you want to see more Big Bear tours, market breakdowns, and investment math like this, subscribe to my YouTube channel — and if you’d like to see this estate for yourself, reach out and let’s set up a showing.
About Rachael Smith
Rachael Smith is a top-producing real estate agent with RE/MAX Big Bear, specializing in mountain homes, short-term rental investments, and luxury properties in Big Bear Lake and surrounding areas. With over a decade of experience and hundreds of homes sold, she helps buyers, sellers, and investors make smart, strategic real estate decisions. Through her strong online presence and data-driven approach, Rachael connects clients with opportunities both on and off the market.