Typical difference between asking and sold prices?

[Emoyeni]

I’d be curious to hear what everyone thinks the average percentage price change is between the asking price and sold price for boats posted on YachtWorld. For that matter, Facebook as well. Is there a place to get hard numbers?

[John_Trusty]

Only a subscribed broker can see the sales values. That said, there are longstanding rumors that some selling brokers enter higher than true selling prices to influence future negotiations (perhaps a broker will weigh in). Personally, I think that the percentage of ask varies wildly depending on market (timing, particular boat, popularity of design, etc.), and reasonableness of the initial listing. Example: recent market for cruising catamarans ... we paid whatever the asking price if we wanted a boat.

[Fore and Aft]

Emoyeni there is no hard price difference between asking and sold price. I have seen people pay the asking price and I have seen people get a $100,000 discount after the survey. If it's a good boat, then you your room for negotiation can be fairly limited particularly if the price is fair. If you're trying to be a bottom feeder then be prepared to be disappointed a fair few times. I have a client that is struggling to find a boat as every good boat he finds he makes a ridiculous offer. He has almost gone to survey a few times, but every time the survey gets cancelled as a better offer from another buyer has been accepted.

Cheers

[boatpoker]

There is no average. Many surveyors and all brokers with Yacht World accounts have access to actual sales data from soldboats.com (Yacht World)

Here are a couple of examples I just pulled an hour ago for someone else.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Emoyeni

I’d be curious to hear what everyone thinks the average percentage price change is between the asking price and sold price ...

I think the average difference is exactly -8.77405%.
But, I've been wrong, on occasion.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I think the average difference is exactly -8.77405%.
But, I've been wrong, on occasion.

More if it's raining.

[MicHughV]

Really depends on one's negotiating skills. ie, how badly do you want the boat and how badly does the owner of the boat want to sell it. Your skill in determining this, will drive negotiations.

Also research how long a boat has been on the market. Many owners naturally shoot for sky high valuations, but after the boat sits on the market for a year without being sold, typically re-evaluate their asking price.

I think it's fair to say that most boats are sold thru' a broker these days, and typically they will know the market valuations better than most.

Finding the right broker can be tricky though. Some brokers are reluctant to travel 100 miles to show a boat, especially so for a "tire kicker" prospective buyer, as that is a waste of his/her time and resources.

Finally, get a proper in-depth survey done as well as a sea trial as this often opens the door to further negotiations.

At the end of the day, it's a combination of many things. A newbie buyer is not likely to get a better deal than an old salt buying his third boat, etc.

[5BTM]

I paid the asking price for my CS27, didn't even ask to see the survey according to which the market value was 40% less than the asking price.

I am sure the seller went to his grave regretting he didn't ask for more.

When I was selling renovation contracts I would always, without hesitation and with a big smile, accept the counter offer.
Never made a sale.

Behaviour of greedy humanoids is as predictable as that as of one cell organisms.

I find it amusing.

[SailingHarmonie]

This question gets asked all the time, and the answer is always the same.

Each boat is sold by an owner with their own ideas of fairness and value. If you approach a sale with the idea that the “right price” is 10%, or 20% or 8.77405% less than the asking price you might get a “fair” price, you might get ripped off and pay too much, or you might miss out on the perfect boat for you.

It’s a negotiation. If you have done some homework, you’ll have an idea of what a reasonable price is FOR YOU. There is no measure of value that matters other than what YOU think it is worth.

In some ways it is like an auction. By some measures, every winning bidder at an auction paid too much, because they paid more than every other buyer present was willing to.

Yes, there can be some gamesmanship by some sellers. But honestly, the difference between asking and selling is more about ego and emotion than actual value.

When we bought our current boat, we paid full asking price the day after we inspected it- with the usual stipulations about survey and sea trial. We felt it was a good price, and we knew it was priced to sell quickly.

The day after we submitted our deposit and signed a sales contract someone familiar with the boat offered 20% above asking, as-is, where-is. The seller and broker honored the sales contract that we had signed. If we had dicked around to negotiate 5% off we would have lost the best example of this model of boat that came to market in years.

I have also seen boats that I thought were overpriced by at least 50%.

If you are spending a lot of money (for you) then you owe yourself to do the research and know what’s reasonable. If you are buying a smaller boat with disposable income, then don’t sweat it too much.

[Capt Clark]

Originally Posted by Emoyeni

I’d be curious to hear what everyone thinks the average percentage price change is between the asking price and sold price for boats posted on YachtWorld. For that matter, Facebook as well. Is there a place to get hard numbers?

The difference can vary greatly depending on many factors already mentioned. As a broker, I see this as a problem when it comes to listing a vessel for sale. The owner sees similar boats for sale and prices his the same or a little higher because his is special. What he doesn’t see (and should be able to) is what those vessels are selling for. It seems to set expectations too high from the start.

Although there are no hard numbers, my WAG would be about 80 to 85% of asking price on average.

[Cheechako]

It varies a lot. Look for how long the boat has been listed. Google the actual boat, sometimes you will see it listed with a different broker a year back etc. The longer it's listed the more negotiable it usually is.
-List prices are almost always high. A boat I sold had 3 available in the US. All were listed at $135k-to $140k. 1.5 years later I took 90k for mine as maintenance and moorage was adding up. That's like 34% off asking price.
-I bought one boat that was listed at $120k for $65k, but it was a mess and needed work. I originally offered 100k, did a survey and rejected the boat. I then offered 65k 'as is' after thinking about it. In the end it was not a bargain but turned out a beauty. (avatar)
-Popular boats are far less negotiable. You can search the type and try to see what prices are and how they move down over time a bit.
-How you make an offer matters! You need to sell your offer to the seller's broker. Convince him. Supply reasons like "I cant decide between this boat for a bit less or that boat" "That boat has a lot of gear" etc. "the engine in this boat is not that popular with owners"

[Tedd]

A few years ago I had a PM correspondence with a broker who kindly sent me a big spreadsheet of data on sailboats that his firm had brokered. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the data but I do remember that, on average, selling price was about 5 percent below asking price. Also, there was a slight correlation to asking price with more expensive boats selling for relatively less (up to 7 percent below asking) and less expensive boats selling for relatively more (as little as 3 percent below asking).


That's all from memory so take it with a grain of salt, but it was based on actual data. I wish I'd kept the data.

[bccoast]

I have found some brokers post reports on their websites. just search for it. the ones I found are specifically catamarans but would assume that the same exists for monos if that is what you were looking for. Without doing the math, id say average was sold 10% below asking with exceptions on both ends

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I think the average difference is exactly -8.77405%.
But, I've been wrong, on occasion.

I'd be wary of believing that Gord; everyone knows that 87.623% of statistics that you see on the internet are spurious and simply plucked out of thin air.

[Kettlewell]

It’s a negotiation. If you have done some homework, you’ll have an idea of what a reasonable price is FOR YOU. There is no measure of value that matters other than what YOU think it is worth.

^^This^^ I have bought boats at 50% of the original asking price and I have paid the asking price. If you are looking at a popular boat with many examples on the market, expect prices to be in a narrower range. And, it will be easier to determine a fair price FOR YOU. I tend to look for boats that have good bones but need lots of clean up and renewal, so I tend to get deals. Looks matter a lot to many people and a dirty boat is one worth looking at because you can often get a lower price for a better boat. Contrary to what many tell you, I find often that boats that look pristine have hidden problems because the owner worried more about looks than anything else. Look at an oddball or rare boat and pricing will range from bargains to hopelessly overpriced. Some owners are willing to deal, others are not. Beware of the boat that is priced unrealistically, and beware of making unrealistic offers.