Buying a Boat in the US vs Oz

[Adax]

In the US a lot of boats were purchased with second or third liens on a property .The housing market has dropped drastically and a lot of people have to let their boat go. Even if not purchased with a 2nd lien often they are the only thing that could provide cash for people with houses underwater.

For Europe I would have to guess and say that the secondhand offering is larger than the potential buyers market.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Kojiro

Can anyone explain to me what the reasons are that boats appear relatively "cheap" in the US versus Australia. Is it oversupply? Is it something to do with people writing off boat costs against tax over say 5 years and then selling up for whatever the balloon payment is at the end of a lease? Is it just the size of the US market?
Just intrigued..and happy as long as it lasts.
I've even done searches in WIs and even UK and they also seem relatively cheap compared to Australia.

Its very simple... financialy they are in the ****... OZ is not... got it... very simple really

[Curmudgeon]

The U.S. dollar is weak against the Euro (and apparently against the Australian dollar). It appears to be an exchange rate phenomenon. Sure, the U.S. economy tanked, but it's recovering. Stock markets are up. My guess is that most of the fire sales (people in dire financial trouble who had to sell) have already occurred and that insiders (friends of brokers, etc.) cashed in. But there is still a huge inventory of unsold boats in the U.S., especially boats that are not perceived as capable of crossing the Atlantic back to Europe.

[Dragon Lady]

It's not that simple, the current exchange rate has a big impact.
However boatbuilding in Australia and NZ has been a cottage industry compared to the large production factories in USA and Europe and so prices for boats built here are relatively higher.
Because it has always cost a lot to get a boat from USA or Europe to Australia prices of those boats have been comparable to the locally built boats once they are landed her.
It still costs a bit to get a boat to Australia now but the exchange rate is about 25 to 30% better now so it is very attractive to import a boat now.
Because of this the local boatbuilding industry is finding it pretty tough now; even the few large more efficient factories are struggling to compete.
Second hand boat prices also stay high because it is so cheap and easy to keep a boat on a mooring here.
Add to that a low level of financial distress which allows people to keep their boats for years without using them more than a few times a year, if ever.
You only have to look at the ridiculously high price of so called “mooring minders” here to see how bad it is.
My wife and I often joke “why would you buy a boat, you could just borrow one off a mooring in Sydney and no one would notice”.
Anyway, stop making excuses and make the time to go and buy a boat.
You’re dead too long not to!

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Its very simple... financialy they are in the ****... OZ is not... got it... very simple really

Boatman, so beautifully put! Short and so to the point.

[Boracay]

As previously noted boat owners in Oz can hang onto their boats till #&!! freezes over. Keeps prices high and quality down.

A straight import where the boat is shipped on a freighter is expensive, bringing the imported price to something near the cost of a similar boat in Oz.

The list of additional costs seems almost endless...

Where it may be practical is to buy in the USA/Caribbean and to sail the boat back yourself, almost half way round the world. Given that circumnavigations are reputed to take at least three years if done quickly allowing 2 years may not be out of line.

Delivery over 12,000 miles would not be cheap and would involve a degree of risk.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by Kojiro

Can anyone explain to me what the reasons are that boats appear relatively "cheap" in the US versus Australia. Is it oversupply? Is it something to do with people writing off boat costs against tax over say 5 years and then selling up for whatever the balloon payment is at the end of a lease? Is it just the size of the US market?
Just intrigued..and happy as long as it lasts.
I've even done searches in WIs and even UK and they also seem relatively cheap compared to Australia.

Larger production in the US means lower outlay on production costs. Freight costs are negligable. Even Euro boats in the US are cheaper as the close proximity (only one ocean to cross) and the shear volume of boats delivered and sold.

Compare shipping companies and how often they freight from Europe to US compared to how often they come downunder. The ones that do are delivering to a smaller market, so its natural for Oz prices to be higher on freight alone. I had a quote for a 36ft hunter at $23k from US to Sydney. That cost has to be added to basically every imported boat.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

Larger production in the US means lower outlay on production costs. Freight costs are negligable. Even Euro boats in the US are cheaper as the close proximity (only one ocean to cross) and the shear volume of boats delivered and sold.

Compare shipping companies and how often they freight from Europe to US compared to how often they come downunder. The ones that do are delivering to a smaller market, so its natural for Oz prices to be higher on freight alone. I had a quote for a 36ft hunter at $23k from US to Sydney. That cost has to be added to basically every imported boat.

Oh and I forgot to add. Our labour market is very expensive. Super, Workers comp, holiday pays.. all that adds up to making expensive to employ people here, thus pumping up the value of locally made boats.

[Aussie_Sequoia]

I think it's really quite simple. The US is suffering a major Financial Crisis... and (thank goodness) Australia isn't suffering nearly as badly. In fact some would say we fared better than any of the other developed nations. Personally I think it was because our economy was much closer tied with Asia than the US and so when the sh*t hit the fan over there... we had some distance... but I digress.

Wages here are as high as ever... interest rates are growing... unemployment is low. This compared to a country (the US) where unemployment is rampent and people are crippled by their debt. A luxury item such as a boat (and -no- of course I don't think that livaboard cruisers would conciser their boat a luxury item... it's the others I'm speaking of here) a boat that they probably borrowed to purchase in the first place, simply must go. When everyone is trying to offload their boats, it makes for an over supply... hence lower prices.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Boatman, so beautifully put! Short and so to the point.

Yeah... sorry about that.. it was a 'Wine' post... another dinner where I didn't like the food and the wine hit an empty stomach...

[savoir]

US boats were cheap lonnngggg before the GFC. All that has changed is the buying power of Australians and Canadians too plus Euros to a lesser extent. This will continue for some time yet and past new year for sure.

Anyone looking to buy in the US with a foreign currency should try to wait until at least July. Sometime then Congress MUST address the debt ceiling issue again and that ceiling can reliably be expected to be voted up. There will be strings but they are unlikely to concern foreigners. At that time the USD should fall around 3 - 5%.

If you possibly can, delay your plan to buy until at least August. This does not mean that later falls might not occur but who wants to wait forever?

[Dragon Lady]

Yeah good info savoir, the Aussie reserve bank has flagged another interest rate rise so that too will push the AUD higher.
The window for Pacific crossings will close soon, so you won't be able to get your boat back for another season anyway.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

Yeah good info savoir, the Aussie reserve bank has flagged another interest rate rise so that too will push the AUD higher.
The window for Pacific crossings will close soon, so you won't be able to get your boat back for another season anyway.

Damn. that would mean staying the carribean for 6 months and waiting it out. Bugger!

[Dragon Lady]

Yeah, you just have to dodge the hurricanes.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

Yeah, you just have to dodge the hurricanes.

Hmm, all of summer in the carribean with a week or two hiding up a creek, or winter in the southern hemisphere? I must remember the sunscreen But in all seriousness, you do make a good point. It may be worth getting a bit closer to the equator.