Do Cat Values Change by Location?

[Tscott8201]

Just curious if a boats location in the world affects its value at all. Are there locations in the world where there are so many cats for sale that the prices are lower than the rest of the world? Perhaps a destination that is easy to sail to but no so easy to leave? Maybe a natural ending point for a circumnavigation? A place where a lot of people decide to give up the cruising lifestyle and move inland? Just something I have been thinking about and could not find an answer.

Tom

[Matt sachs]

I vaguely remember reading (here on CF) that hawaii is the place you are looking for. Somebody wrote that a lot of the so called "credit card captains" get there, decide they had enough and fly home. May not be the case, but maybe??

[jostalli]

Definitely not hawaii. I rarely see cats posted for sale in Hawaii.

Cats are cheapest in popular charter locations. A quick search on yacht world will tell you that. These areas are saturated so prices must be competitive.

They are also cheap in areas that are difficult to get in and out of like Panama. A guy on here just bought a Lagoon 380 owner's version for $150k in Panama. He had a challenging time with all aspects of the purchase due to the location. I think the low price reflected these difficulties.

The highest price cats seem to be the ones that had to travel the farthest to get there (i.e. French manufacturer to Australia). Speaking of Australia, everything is more expensive there so I wouldn't use boats located there when negotiating a price.

[sailorboy1]

I would bet the best prices are in the Caribbean for the ex-charter boats.But you have to keep in mind that those boats have also been used more and have lived in the sun a lot more.

[Sand crab]

+1 on Panama or any out of the way location. There was a real nice Catana in Cuba! Are you frickin kidding me? There are more for sale there so think of the money you will save. I'm not in total agreement on the charter cats in the Carib. So many are bare bones and quite a few are very well used so it's hard to get a good read on a fair price there. Finding a boat with radar or a watermaker or other cruising goodies would be atypical.
Another thing that affects price is weather. It will be the summer/hurricane season soon so all those cats in the Carib will be rarely used or chartered so a good value might be had. Those cold winter climes elsewhere can also affect prices.

[weavis]

The economy is forcing more realistic prices for used Cats. Sailing is expensive and when a person needs to unload fast, they usually have to unload like 'right now'. the price will tumble on a good offer. Otherwise the seller will be sat on a value they want for a year or more.

[beneteau-500]

We'll i would not have a clue what the real value of some cats are but here in Rome marina Ostia there are two for sale 1st one 2009 lagoon 380 was put on at 230k euros is now 150k second one is a 440 2010/11 was 320k euros now 220 k and both look in good order and we'll equipped from the outside

[jostalli]

Originally Posted by beneteau-500

We'll i would not have a clue what the real value of some cats are but here in Rome marina Ostia there are two for sale 1st one 2009 lagoon 380 was put on at 230k euros is now 150k second one is a 440 2010/11 was 320k euros now 220 k and both look in good order and we'll equipped from the outside

I'd say the 380 is priced right if it's a 4 cabin version. Good price if it's an owners version. The 440 is priced low even for a 4 cabin version. Where are these listed for sale?

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

....I'm not in total agreement on the charter cats in the Carib. So many are bare bones and quite a few are very well used so it's hard to get a good read on a fair price there. Finding a boat with radar or a watermaker or other cruising goodies would be atypical....

A real good point. Cruising gear costs money. It's human nature to search for the lowest price, but that's only 1/2 the story. It's the reason I break out Equipment lists on boats listed for sale on my website. Sailors know all about this ... but first time boat buyers .... not so much...

[CortoMaltese]

A few years ago i was very close to pull the trigger and i started dealing with some sellers. My opinion is independantly from where the boat is, asking price is just a starting point and that very often is easy to lower that price even 15/20%, maybe even more depending since how long the boat is on sale.

[6227]

Well, YES.

Barn cats are pretty valuable in that they keep the mice population down.
House cats are more of a liability in that they are pretty high maintenance. Mostly just lie around in the sun and want milk, meat, and whatever else you have in the house.
And boat cats... well, I like my cat but she is NOT coming on the boat!
She is a great mouser and vole hunter.

[IdoraKeeper]

Certainly! The more you sail it from place to place the less you can sell it for.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by weavis

The economy is forcing more realistic prices for used Cats. Sailing is expensive and when a person needs to unload fast, they usually have to unload like 'right now'. the price will tumble on a good offer. Otherwise the seller will be sat on a value they want for a year or more.

Maybe 4 or 5 years ago. Today, the prices are up quite a bit. I'm fairly certain my boat would sell for 10% more that what I bought it for plus all the upgrades I've done. This is based on the other 7 that are on the market and the ones I know have sold recently.

What many have been doing for years is buying cats in the Caribbean and sailing them to Australia where they sell for enough of a premium it pays for their cruise. I believe the Aust. dollar has gone down this last year so the premium may not be as much now.

[mikereed100]

There are a lot of good deals to be had in the Phuket/Langkawi area. Cruisers who may have sailed on through the Red Sea in the past are now selling when they get to Thailand.

Boats for sale, Phuket, Thailand.
- Pippen Marine – Boats for sale Asia – Malaysia – Duty Free Island Langkawi

[travellerw]

Hhmm I've been watching the market for 8 months.. I haven't seen one good deal in Phuket.. Actually they all seem 10 - 20% higher than the Carib..

From my research.. Anywhere in the Carib is the best deals... I see well priced boats in BVI, USVI, Panama and Florida.

I have seen some pretty good deals in very remote areas off the African coast . Seychelles is one area that comes to mind.. but damn.. the logistics .. Boats should be a good deal in that area..

West coast Mexico (La Pez) seems to be an area where Cats are almost always overpriced. Yet they seem to sell..