Tips on tracking boats values/prices?

[JensenJourney]

So I've been making good strides toward my goals toward boat ownership and cruising... and am getting more serious about it.

What tips/advice do you all have for tracking values/prices for potential boats? I'm not in buying mode, just wanting to get more familiar with the market and process. I'm probably still a year or more out, but want to be able become more comfortable with this aspect so that when it is time I can reduce my odds of making major 'newbie' mistakes (even though I will be a 'newbie')

So websites you use to check pricing? How do you find 'sold' prices? Magazines you follow? Apps? Etc?

What are your words/phrases that make you instantly reject a boat prospect? What ones catch your eye? What ones are used to catch an eye that don't really mean anything, but might catch someone like me?

How did you determine the best/most important aspects for YOUR first boat purchase?

Just any/all other advice you might give a life-long land-lubber who wants to make a change. Even things that seem basic or obvious to you with experience, and grew up around boats, might be missed by someone like me with NO experience, so let me hear anything that you think is important. Thanks!!

[billknny]

For pricing and availability you can't beat Yachtworld.com, AKA "boat porn"

There are a lot of sites listing boats for sale by owner, but those are very spotty if you are trying to learn the market. Many 4-sale-by-owner boats are people who have been told by several brokers the price they want is too high, or boats that brokers don't want, or people too cheap to pay a broker. You don't want to buy a boat from somebody "cheap." There can be special values there, but a lot to sort through.

Here is an article with a lot I have learned in many decades around boats...

https://fetchinketch.net/boat_though...-should-i-buy/

[grantmc]

I am in a similar position to yourself, but providing you with my guidelines wouldn’t be of help to you.

What sort of boat do you want and what requirements do you have? For myself I’ve a simple spreadsheet with some features down the side. Boats, as I come across them are listed in columns across.

Details include make/model, price, construction material, engine details, location. In addition the web url for the boat and also for any blog I’ve found for the boat.

Other features I capture include battery/solar, communications, plus basic yes/no things like radar, mast steps, water maker, heating etc.
When I stumble on a boat that has appeal then I will search for as many similar boats as I can and record their details for a price comparison. and so many are listed just for this purpose.

I always try to find a blog too, obviously many cruisers keep them. This will often give a wealth of information about the maintenance and jobs they’ve done since their ownership started. This can also give an indication of the sort of level of expertise and budget that maintenance has been completed for. For example if I find that they’ve replaced the exhaust system but just used automotive pipe, or cheap clamps, well probably not worth a visit unless local.

It would be interesting to ask people how they examine photos. I look for signs of water leaks, exposed wiring, rust etc. T never fails to amaze me how people post poor quality photos, often with all sorts of untidy mess.

[john61ct]

If your budget is high enough, engage a buyer's broker.

If possible, exclude their getting paid except for those deals they bring you.

But if you find the boat you want already has a seller's broker involved, might as well bring yours in, since it will cost you nothing.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by john61ct

If your budget is high enough, engage a buyer's broker.

If possible, exclude their getting paid except for those deals they bring you.

But if you find the boat you want already has a seller's broker involved, might as well bring yours in, since it will cost you nothing.

I always have to disagree with this.

If you bring professional representation, it's going to cost you. Yes, your guy gets paid, and yes, the seller writes the check. But it comes out of a deal that you are negotiating. Unless you're just planning to offer the asking price.

If you want some help, it's fine. But it's not really free. Sort of depends on how hard you're negotiating.

[Ruso]

Almost impossible without limiting your search by funds available, market, boat type/model. This is a brokers activity and they have a tools in their hands to look-up sale price.
I do it over one year for 2-3 hours daily and pretty close to move in.
I am too lazy to work with spreadsheets. It might be helpful when you are ready and limited your choices to let's say 10 boats.
Pricing research is important but over time I understand that saving 10% on purchase might bring you into 20% fixing the boat.
The best deals snitched by people next to marina - not remote buyer's - I am not holding my breath to find the deal of the century.
Most of the listing don't have complete information and final evaluation can be done only in-person.
Since my search limited to Mexico and very few brokers there I do following
1. Monthly save their listing page on my computer - it allows me to see price change and new boat added/removed/sold. If boat went "pending sale" and then back on market it suggests someone refused to buy.
2. Boats I am interested I save the boat page complete on my computer - sometimes description changes over time and it can give a hint. "Owner just dropped price" message might be straight lie if you see the boat with the same price for over few months.
Then I search all available reviews/discussion about the boat model for 2-3 hours each - learning process. It allows me to limit my scope further. And another aspect.. visiting the found discussions/reviews multiple times over the year I found out I just glide through information and basic points just got refreshed from previous visits - I just love the process.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

I always have to disagree with this.

If you bring professional representation, it's going to cost you.

Note the proviso on the going it alone option.

That way the broker does not get involved unless you want to bring them, for those boats you find yourself.

But you do get the benefit of their expertise, connections etc, as well as access to the proprietary price tracking databases.

[KenKo]

There are some useful tools that brokers and others use that list sold boats and their actual and/or asking sales prices. They may not be generally available to the public but a broker will often share info from it once you focus in on a particular model or two and share recent sales prices. There is a good discussion of them at this URL:

The Inside Scoop on Boat Prices

Good luck in your quest.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by JensenJourney

So I've been making good strides toward my goals toward boat ownership and cruising... and am getting more serious about it.

What tips/advice do you all have for tracking values/prices for potential boats? I'm not in buying mode, just wanting to get more familiar with the market and process. I'm probably still a year or more out, but want to be able become more comfortable with this aspect so that when it is time I can reduce my odds of making major 'newbie' mistakes (even though I will be a 'newbie')

So websites you use to check pricing? How do you find 'sold' prices? Magazines you follow? Apps? Etc?

What are your words/phrases that make you instantly reject a boat prospect? What ones catch your eye? What ones are used to catch an eye that don't really mean anything, but might catch someone like me?

How did you determine the best/most important aspects for YOUR first boat purchase?

Just any/all other advice you might give a life-long land-lubber who wants to make a change. Even things that seem basic or obvious to you with experience, and grew up around boats, might be missed by someone like me with NO experience, so let me hear anything that you think is important. Thanks!!

It has been some 12 years since I was doing a boat search but back then I was looking almost daily looking at prices from all sites I could fine, particularly for a specific make/model, I got a good idea of the price ranges. I specifically remember seeing one boat for sale in the mid Atlantic area come off the market and within a week it was back on the market in Florida at a significantly increased price. I also saw a boat in Mexico go off the market and next show up at Point Roberts, WA...about as far north as you can get in the US; I went up to see that one but he didn't accept my offer.

You just gotta put in the effort.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[Scaramanga F25]

I have a friend who bought his 2nd boat an offshore 37 footer, his first being a 26 footer on a lake. He assumed he knew the drill. Two of his good friends, experienced island cruisers, recommended heavily to not purchase this low-quality American build from a homey. It came with so much equipment he bought it anyway. He was to fix it over one Florida winter. Well 2 winters later he had it trucked to his country home and at last count, he had spent at least twice the boat's value. The saddest was that all this equipment was now obsolete or not working, not to mentione the structural problems we pointed out when he asked later. BEWARE of the goodies. Buy a sound boat and install the goodies after.

[thomm225]

Is your budget closer to $2,000, $50,000, $100,000 or above?

Are you one of those guys that's planning to buy a boat to refit that can take years or do you want to sail now?

Fin or full keel?

Race or cruise?

Big (38' AND ABOVE?) or smaller?

Good sites are Craigslist, sailboatlistings (check posting date to see if still relavent), yachtworld, Northpoint yacht sales, Chesapeake Bay Yacht sales, Bay Harbor Brokers, etc

Check prices daily for a few months and good luck on getting it right the first time. I'm on my 12th boat and still trying to figure out exactly which boat to get next time

Advice on first boat buying if going older full keel cruiser:

https://atomvoyages.com/planning/goo...oats-list.html

[JensenJourney]

Thanks for the replies... Sorry I didn't give more detail, I assumed it didn't much matter. I have a family of 11 (9, yes 9 kids) but probably won't have all of them with me when I hit the water (oldest is a high school Sr now). So something with berths for 7-10? Catamaran most likely. I expect something from $300-$600K. I'm currently inland US, not on a coast, so all my "looking" is online right now.

So any further suggestions would be great. Thanks for the ones already. I hadn't considered a detailed spreadsheet to track things of interest. I might put one of those together (unless someone wants to email me one )

[john61ct]

You definitely should check into my suggestion, that is more than enough to attract a decent one.

Maybe post a new thread titled "looking for good honest broker in (relevant area)"

[Hoodsail]

JensonJourney - My last boat search lasted about 2 yrs, over which time i developed a spreadsheet with all major components listed, including electronics, engine hrs, sail inventory, etc along with when and where listed (eg yachtworld, dec 13, 2019), price etc...I checked all sites (FSBO too) about 3-4 times a wk. I had narrowed my search to 2 boats, down to year range, length, model. As a surrogate for sold price i used when the boat was 1st listed and then recorded the date it was sold - assumed when boat listing could no longer be found. If sold w/in weeks of listing I assumed the asking price was close to the final sale price. On a few boats I asked and was told what the boat sold for. This was supplemented by physical inspections of boats that were w/in 2-3 hrs drive..after 3-4 months of this i had developed a very good idea of what was a good deal, a great deal, or someone's attempt to off load their hurricane-submerged resurrection. Some of the great deals had deposits on them in days from their 1st listing. The hunt was 1/2 the fun and very educational. good hunting to ya.

[Tom and Maje]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

I always have to disagree with this.

If you bring professional representation, it's going to cost you. .

I couldn't disagree more. Jeff Jones at the Multihull Company and he not only saved us over $10,000, but got us deals on a new mainsail, and other items.

Maje