Used Yacht Values - How They Affect Your Buying
I receive calls regularly from customers that are in their last stages to cruiser ownership; finding and buying their new boat. They want my counsel.
And frequently, most shoppers do not have a true understanding of pleasure boat values and the prices they demand.
Most individuals are shocked to find vessels cost as much as houses do. They are surprised when I try to account for the explanation a yacht is priced so low.
I want to give you a good idea of why used boats cost as much as they do so let's begin from the top.
On separate pages on my website, you will observe about the lack of a Motor Yacht Blue Book. Yes, that's right, there is no such article. There is one for automobiles but not for boats.
If you telephone any auto trader or bank in North America and identify any production automobile, they will cite a value of within a few dollars of each. This is due to the multi-billion dollar, general used wholesale car selling method.
And there is also the Powerboat Guide, NADA and others that like to sell you their version of a pleasure boat Blue Book.
With over 15,000 cruiser builders (USCG Listings) represented in North America there is no such general market for used boats and the older a yacht gets the greater the cost discrepancies. And recollect, that yachts are not built on an assembly line.
I've been inside my share of yacht factories including Hatteras, Bertram and Carver. Vessels are built like houses, one component at a time. Very labor intensive, they are built, cars are assembled. So you can easily see why new vessels cost thousands of dollars to produce.
Powerboats cost more to make than sailboats as they are more elaborate.
Generally, boats do not appreciate in value. But they do achieve a point in their life where they do not lose any more value. Much like automobiles, the rarer a yacht is, the more it will be in demand.
An old Huckins will often bring more money today than when it was commissioned. But vessels generally lose about 10% a year.
So you are searching for that 1984 40' Marine Trader trawler, with a single Lehman and 2 staterooms. What is it worth? What is a fair price? Simply speaking, that Marine Trader is worth what you are inclined to give and the seller is prepared to take. So where do you begin?
Here is what you need to know when considering prices of vessels. The owner has established his asking price with consultation with his listing Broker supported upon several factors. I do the aforementioned with my sellers.
In what condition is the yacht? Good vessels always command higher prices, always! A newer yacht in bad condition will bring less than an older boat in good condition always! By condition I am speaking of both gel coat, canvas and structural issues involving tanks, rudder posts, blisters etc. The more maintenance that has been completed, the more you should expect to pay as the owner knows this. He also knows that you will have already looked at the dilapidated yachts and have spurned them too.
How old is the yacht? See above. This factored in but is not the last reason.
How motivated is the seller? Many owners want to sale their yacht as workable and anything near to an asking cost might be accepted. It doesn't happen often but it does sometimes.
How many of these 40' Marine Traders are on the market? The more demand for the pleasure boat, the higher the prices will be. And I find that most people will not travel far to buy a boat, so yachts in California will not be in contention with Southeast boats.
And lastly, and perhaps the most significant thing in determining that asking price will be is the sales history of comparable makes and models.
The former sales history is available only to Brokers from our MLS, YachtWorld. It will provide me the past demand for this boat, and at what selling prices have been in other parts of the USA. It tells me what sellers are asking and what customers are paying!
So when you are hunting for this Marine Trader and you have found at what seems to be a good price for $50,000.00 and all of the others are in the $85 - $100,000.00 range, there is a cause for this.
Remember, condition, condition, condition! But new fuel tanks will cost you about $30,000.00 and rudder posts about $8000.00. But if you can survive with the problems with the pleasure boat, then buy it.
I am just wanting you to know not to expect a problem - free pleasure boat for the low, low; you'll pay for what you receive.
So now you are considering, are all boat prices negotiable? Certainly they are. Everything has it's selling price and neither the listing Broker nor the owner may know what that price will be.
Only a sincere buyer with money on the plate will acquire that from negotiations.
And frequently, most shoppers do not have a true understanding of pleasure boat values and the prices they demand.
Most individuals are shocked to find vessels cost as much as houses do. They are surprised when I try to account for the explanation a yacht is priced so low.
I want to give you a good idea of why used boats cost as much as they do so let's begin from the top.
On separate pages on my website, you will observe about the lack of a Motor Yacht Blue Book. Yes, that's right, there is no such article. There is one for automobiles but not for boats.
If you telephone any auto trader or bank in North America and identify any production automobile, they will cite a value of within a few dollars of each. This is due to the multi-billion dollar, general used wholesale car selling method.
And there is also the Powerboat Guide, NADA and others that like to sell you their version of a pleasure boat Blue Book.
With over 15,000 cruiser builders (USCG Listings) represented in North America there is no such general market for used boats and the older a yacht gets the greater the cost discrepancies. And recollect, that yachts are not built on an assembly line.
I've been inside my share of yacht factories including Hatteras, Bertram and Carver. Vessels are built like houses, one component at a time. Very labor intensive, they are built, cars are assembled. So you can easily see why new vessels cost thousands of dollars to produce.
Powerboats cost more to make than sailboats as they are more elaborate.
Generally, boats do not appreciate in value. But they do achieve a point in their life where they do not lose any more value. Much like automobiles, the rarer a yacht is, the more it will be in demand.
An old Huckins will often bring more money today than when it was commissioned. But vessels generally lose about 10% a year.
So you are searching for that 1984 40' Marine Trader trawler, with a single Lehman and 2 staterooms. What is it worth? What is a fair price? Simply speaking, that Marine Trader is worth what you are inclined to give and the seller is prepared to take. So where do you begin?
Here is what you need to know when considering prices of vessels. The owner has established his asking price with consultation with his listing Broker supported upon several factors. I do the aforementioned with my sellers.
In what condition is the yacht? Good vessels always command higher prices, always! A newer yacht in bad condition will bring less than an older boat in good condition always! By condition I am speaking of both gel coat, canvas and structural issues involving tanks, rudder posts, blisters etc. The more maintenance that has been completed, the more you should expect to pay as the owner knows this. He also knows that you will have already looked at the dilapidated yachts and have spurned them too.
How old is the yacht? See above. This factored in but is not the last reason.
How motivated is the seller? Many owners want to sale their yacht as workable and anything near to an asking cost might be accepted. It doesn't happen often but it does sometimes.
How many of these 40' Marine Traders are on the market? The more demand for the pleasure boat, the higher the prices will be. And I find that most people will not travel far to buy a boat, so yachts in California will not be in contention with Southeast boats.
And lastly, and perhaps the most significant thing in determining that asking price will be is the sales history of comparable makes and models.
The former sales history is available only to Brokers from our MLS, YachtWorld. It will provide me the past demand for this boat, and at what selling prices have been in other parts of the USA. It tells me what sellers are asking and what customers are paying!
So when you are hunting for this Marine Trader and you have found at what seems to be a good price for $50,000.00 and all of the others are in the $85 - $100,000.00 range, there is a cause for this.
Remember, condition, condition, condition! But new fuel tanks will cost you about $30,000.00 and rudder posts about $8000.00. But if you can survive with the problems with the pleasure boat, then buy it.
I am just wanting you to know not to expect a problem - free pleasure boat for the low, low; you'll pay for what you receive.
So now you are considering, are all boat prices negotiable? Certainly they are. Everything has it's selling price and neither the listing Broker nor the owner may know what that price will be.
Only a sincere buyer with money on the plate will acquire that from negotiations.
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