Valuing an older catamaran

[ranchero76]

Starting price can be any. Like with anything else - it's overpriced, if it's not sold within reasonable period of time. I'd say - if it's not sold within 6 month with no real offers - than it's overpriced at least 2x. Not sold within 1 year - price should be reduced (or offer adjusted) by 60%. Not sold in 2 years (and there are many of such boats on the market) - seller is just playing around, waiting for idiot, with no real intention to sell. Just think - if you will buy such boat, when time to sell will come, you will be in exactly same situation. Do you want to find yourself selling boat for years?

[44'cruisingcat]

These days, when pricing a boat to sell, you also need to remember that many buyers will shop on the internet.

If you price a boat just above some "threshold" numbers, it's quite possible some potential buyers won't even see your boat.

Ie. A boat was priced at around $320 K, and didn't sell for quite some time. Dropped to $299 k and sold almost immediately. People may have been searching boats up to $300 k, and simply didn't see the boat until the asking price dropped, even though the actual selling price probably ended up being very similar.

[riki]

Being in the market and looking at adv almost everyday i still struggle to find an answer to the OP question: by sure there are a lot of sellers way off the market reality because there is plenty of boat of 20+ years being sold at very close price compared much newer boats that are apparently in same (or better) conditions.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Factor

Production Boats -particularly those that sell in reasonable volume in a particular market are pretty easy, I think I could estimate the price of a 1998 SW1000 to within $10,000 of its final sell nine times out of ten.

I think you are exaggerating the accuracy a bit but in general yes, the larger the market for a particular model, the more of a standard is developed for what the pricing should be.

Absolutely agree, its why my recommendation is to hit the market with a fair price and stay solid, the boat will sell quicker and the final sell price will be closer to the ask. Sadly whilst some owners understand this many don't and many owners simply want to start high and hope. I track the list/sell price and time on market of boats over many many years. There is a direct correlation between % drop in price and time on market. Agree, but a knowledgable person can get you there, the issue with older non production boats is that the market for them is much smaller. So finding a knowledgeable buyer is harder and increasingly so.
The problem with this approach is you never know if you left money on the table. Sure, if you under priced it, it will sell quick but you ill never know if you could have gotten another 10-20%. I could care less if asking and sale prices are close. I want the maximum sales price.

To the original question:
1) Check comparable asking prices and discount a bit. Obviously harder for one off boats. As best as possible adjust for condition.
2) After viewing, re-adjust for condition.
3) Assuming an offer is made, have the surveyor include an estimated value.
4) Live with what you paid and don't worry about value until it's time to sell.

As far as who sets the price...it's a joint deal between buyer and seller. Without both agreeing, you don't have a sale. Keep in mind value and price are not the same thing.

Particularly with a production boat, being ready to walk away from a deal can have a huge impact on price.

If you are talking about depreciation, I would say somewhere around 15-20yrs, age related depreciation ends and the value shifts towards the underlying value of the bones. If everything is well maintained in good working order, the value will never go down (adjusted for inflation). The issue is at some point, it no longer makes financial sense to keep up that maintenance (ie: you have a $30k boat that needs $50k in engine work...)

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Robert Tilbury

one thing i run from is when a seller say`s ,
"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHE IS WORTH"
My reply is i wont be the buyer and seller ,
When you work out the start point call me ?

Assuming, I was otherwise interested in the boat and did my homework, that is prime territory for a well phrased low ball offer.

As long as I phrase it politely, he really can't be offended because he claimed not to know what the boat is worth.
- If he was lying, he can only politely decline the offer and counter without it being obvious he was lying.
- If he really has no idea, I might get a really good deal.

This assumes you looked over the boat and include the standard survey/sea trial in the offer so you aren't buying a pig-in-a-poke.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

These days, when pricing a boat to sell, you also need to remember that many buyers will shop on the internet.

If you price a boat just above some "threshold" numbers, it's quite possible some potential buyers won't even see your boat.

Ie. A boat was priced at around $320 K, and didn't sell for quite some time. Dropped to $299 k and sold almost immediately. People may have been searching boats up to $300 k, and simply didn't see the boat until the asking price dropped, even though the actual selling price probably ended up being very similar.

Excellent point but don't forget if you are on the buying side to set the search engine for say $325k so you pull up some of those just over the threshold boats that are getting no action. They may be willing to bargain.