Current market conditions

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by Laughing Buddha

Lets just hope the new group wants to sail and experience all this lifestyle and world has to offer, and not settle for a virtual experience.

Cheers - Jim

Can they Play Pokemon Go while cruising...if not...sheesh...they might pass....ha ha ha

[barnakiel]

Why not a UK boat at 1.3?

It seems as US economy picked up somewhat, so did US sh boat prices.

In the EU, it is still a very strong buyers case.

b.

[model 10]

[QUOTE=a64pilot;2182042]In my great financial planning for the future, I am assuming zero residual value.

It's good that you are starting out with such knowledge, don't forget that as the $$ mount up over time. A sales person told me the worst, are the folks who have owned their boat from new. They think their boat is worth everything they have put into it over the years.

[savoir]

Buy anywhere in Europe - that's where the bargains are. There will be a lot of cheap Italian owned boats coming up soon in Croatia. Keep it in the Med for a cuppla years worth of vacations then sail it home via the Bahamas.

Nice.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

SNIP

As far as the future...who can say what will happen. It's based on economy...and the 2 clowns running for Prez will dictate that.

I am not convinced the prez will really have that much control over the economy. In the 7.5+ years since our last prez the average weekly wage and average number of hours worked has decreased, folks are working less and getting paid less than seven years ago. Not trying to say the previous prez was any better; rather that the economy has been bad and will continue to be bad who ever is elected.

Even with the massive increase in the national debt our infrastructure is crumbling. That is especially worrying for things like power plants and distribution systems, water and sewer systems, and food production and distribution systems.

Looking on the bright side I can view my boat as the ultimate bug out bag. I have cruised for over three months needing nothing from a store, and when I got back to civilization had hardly made a dent in the ships stores. Small price to pay for not having to worry if the spaghetti hits the fan.

Not to mention at my age I expect to die at sea so I will save on funeral costs as well.

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by Laughing Buddha

Rich nailed it in a lot of respects. It is a buyer's market and will continue and only get more so. Why?

Count the number of new buyers entering the arena.
What are their demographics? Or,more simply,where are the young persons entering the cruising/live aboard life?

Maybe I have not been lucky enough to see them in my corner of the world, but most of the cruisers I see are 60+ (nay, many were 60 when we left 15 years ago). Many (like us) are getting ready to finish a circumnav, or are migrating between home (USA/OZ/NZ) to SEA, or are on their semi-annual visit to their plastic, floating, Condo in a nice location. There is an eddy, and many are comfortable to be in it!

None of these are "bad" things, but just as the baby-boomers put a push on all other things economic, they (we) will be trying to sell their (our) boats. With more and more boats coming available, it will inevitably solidify it as a buyer's market. As an example, we have seen many of our cruising friends once having completed their experience, passing their "home afloat" along at fire sale prices. Many have made huge investments in rig, gear and other equipments, not to increase sales price, but it is part of the value they place in the total experience.

Lets just hope the new group wants to sail and experience all this lifestyle and world has to offer, and not settle for a virtual experience.

Cheers - Jim

The market has a way of straightening things out. When a 5 year old plastic boat is sold at 50% or greater discount of its price new (not to mention all the goodies installed/upgraded in these first five years) the market is saying that it was way overpriced to begin with, the vanity of the original owner being the major force in agreeing to that initial price gouging. I'm not talking about one off boats or other custom made jobs, just your run of the mill cookie cutter Huntebenelinas and some such. These should be sold by weight as this is their true worth in the mid and long run.

[valhalla360]

If you want to know if the market is soft, start making low ball offers (politely of course).

If they all shut you down immediately, the market isn't soft.
If they offer to take even less, the market is soft.

Assuming the low ball offers don't fly, start bringing them up until someone bites.

There are plenty of boats out there, no reason to get hung up on a specific boat.

[daletournier]

Im about to put Freeform on the market. Unfortunately its a buyers market not a sellers. My carbon fibre mast (freedom) to replace is probably worth more than what I can sell the whole boat for.
The upside is I'm going to buy a bigger and more expensive boat, so I believe what I lose here I'll pick up, plus some on the other side.

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Three Sisters]

Areas that experience winter haulout or seasonal boating have an affect on the market as well, wouldn't you say ?

A lowball offer may look appealing if an owner is tiring of the haulout and winterization.

There may be seasonal effects.

[Scout 30]

I think what the OP is getting here is a lot of speculation & some probably valid opinions but no real evidence. For real evidence you will need a Broker with access to boat sale statistics including the median list price/sale price ratio & days on market. Access to comparable sale data would also be very useful. As to whether it's a seller's market, that would depend on how many months of inventory there is & what a balanced supply is considered to be. However, the statement that it's always a buyer's market or that it's been a buyer's market for the last 40 years cannot be accurate. If you were to look at graph of the months of inventory over the past 40 years you would be able to see what the typical inventory is & then where there's over or under supply. The amount or speed at which boats depreciate is not relevant to market trends although it has a clear effect on value.