Boat prices

[Way]

I know there's a been a fair amount on this. And I've posted a fair amount on my views on the subject. I can only say that going through the buying/selling process at the moment has solidified my views on prices, so I thought I'd share some numbers as practical examples.

Buying - we've now bought an Oceanis 390 (long story, we looked at everything, but really found value with this boat). She was up for £27,500. We saw her the first weekend up for sale and offered 25k straight away and it was accepted. If you search for them on Yachtworld today, current prices are anywhere from £29,500 up to £54,500. Most of those have been on sale for a while.

Selling - we are now down to a price for our 24/70 that is c.%55 of what we paid for her 4 years ago. And we have no queries on Apollo Duck at all, despite the current price being the result of two drops.

My perception is that people are hanging on to old world prices in an extremely changed market. I was told a couple of times "she's well priced for an XX footer" about boats that have been sale for 3 to 4 years. Unsurprisingly, they still are. I think loosely speaking, younger generations are not buying boats, so the market of buyers is shrinking. I also think that the market is awash with AWBs with the affect of increasing supply but also further reducing (or making them look expensive) supposedly higher quality older boats.

 

[blobby47]

Hi, I just sold my princess 30 ds on a classified ad with e bay,,against all advice from marina's /brokers achieved £30k + alas my disability brought about the end of a long happy boating life ,puts advert in front of lots of people ,,try it worked for me,,and total cost around £18.00 lol

 

[doug748]

Congratulations, hope you have a lot of fun with the new boat, do post some photos.
There have been a number of posts in the past moaning about boats being "overpriced" after a while you start to think what they really mean is "I can't afford the boat I really want" It's a buyers market so good for you for going out and doing it.
The Hurley looks a good buy too.

 

[Way]

Thank you very much. I definitely will. We already have a longer summer trip planned.

yeah interesting point. My point would be it is really difficult to know what is the 'right' price at the moment and by extension what is over or under-priced. I think you have to do a lot of research. thankfully I am a bit of a geek about boats and have enjoyed doing that research for 2-3 years!

Let's hope somebody feels she's a good buy too!

Congratulations, hope you have a lot of fun with the new boat, do post some photos.
There have been a number of posts in the past moaning about boats being "overpriced" after a while you start to think what they really mean is "I can't afford the boat I really want" It's a buyers market so good for you for going out and doing it.
The Hurley looks a good buy too.

 

[Bru]

We're actively scouring the market for "Bigger Boat" at the moment and there's no doubt in my mind that a lot of sellers are not only clinging on to outdated ideas of the value of their boat but blissfully, or wilfully, blind to the condition of their particular example

We've walked away (and will continue to walk away!) from several boats advertised at the top end of the price range applicable a year ago for an A1 tip top condition example when it's turned out that the boat in question is anything but A1 (to date, I've frankly lacked the courage, and until the house sale is completed the hard cash, to put in what I'd consider a realistic offer especially as I'd be offering half to two thirds of the asking price)

Boats with original 40 odd year old Volvo engines, shot running and standing rigging, 20 year old sails, worn out upholstery, poor condition internal woodwork and so on are certainly not worth anywhere near as much money as the same model boat which has been re-engined and updated within the last ten years or so and yet sellers don't seem to be able to see that a lot of the time

 

[dedwards]

We've walked away (and will continue to walk away!) from several boats advertised at the top end of the price range applicable a year ago for an A1 tip top condition example when it's turned out that the boat in question is anything but A1

With boats being advertised at wildly differing prices it is really difficult to work out what a boat's actual value is. We are currently advertising our boat here:
http://www.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=434661 for 12.5k but Apollo duck has a same age example on sale for 17.5k and a 4 years newer model for 11.75k. All we really want is a reasonable offer for her but who is to say what 'reasonable' is?

 

[Minchsailor]

When I was in the market in 2013, I was surprised at the number of frankly,grotty boats that were for sale. Poorly presented, dirty, bilges full of water. Very much unloved. This was in the price range £50K. In my opinion they were grossly overpriced. One or two were on the verge of becoming 'projects'.

On the other hand, the boat I was selling did stick for a time until I took a price reduction - but not as much as I anticipated.

 

[TonyBuckley]

Boat prices are very stupid. I have my eye on a boat which has been very well kept but is now rotting as the owners are too old and ill to sail, and the children not interested and view it as just part of 'the estate'.

The price has dropped several times and I am thinking of making an offer much lower just to see what happens.

 

[Strolls]

Boat prices are very stupid. I have my eye on a boat which has been very well kept but is now rotting as the owners are too old and ill to sail, and the children not interested and view it as just part of 'the estate'.

The price has dropped several times and I am thinking of making an offer much lower just to see what happens.

I'm aware of one boat that was advertised in August 2013 at £68,000 as a "new reduced price".

I don't know when it was put on the market - I would guess perhaps earlier that year, as that reduction was from £70,000.

By early summer last year it was advertised at £50k, and today remains on the market with an asking price of £40k.

I find this staggeringly illustrative - 3 years on the owners will not get half of their original asking price.

The photos curretly in the listing are unchanged from when it was first put on the market, so I dread to think what the condition is like. Nor do I have any idea their costs over this period.

I don't track the prices of AWBs, so I don't know if owner expectations are as unrealistic in that market.

 

[pvb]

But this has really always been the case; boats are put on the market in poor condition with hugely optimistic asking prices, then languish for ages, with periodic price reductions, until the owners finally see sense.

 

[Baddox]

I too have started looking for a new boat, about 38ft in length. I'm after an AWB ideally less than 10 years old, although that's an arbitrary number and very flexible. We've looked at new boats and near enough ruled them out as depreciation hits hard, then the prices settle.

As others appear to do, I've looked at most boats in the age and size range and noted what on offer. The two things that stand out as surprising are that the correlation between age and price is fairly weak, and secondly the variation in price from boat to boat of a similar marque is huge. There are some seriously optimisitc sellers out there; or perhaps they don't really want to sell.

I appreciate that some boats are better equipped and may have recently replaced equipment but that isn't enough to cover the price differential.

As a final thought, I find it off-putting when the vendors include photographs which appear to have come from the manufacturer's brochures. They're to a noticeably higher standard than the other photo's and often include features that aren't shown in the remaining photo set. Teak decks appear and then disappear, upholstery changes design and cabins change colour. It leaves me wondering what the owners are trying to hide.

 

[superheat6k]

Boat prices are very stupid. I have my eye on a boat which has been very well kept but is now rotting as the owners are too old and ill to sail, and the children not interested and view it as just part of 'the estate'.

The price has dropped several times and I am thinking of making an offer much lower just to see what happens.

A classic case of Old Man Syndrome - the owner's expectation is that he will get down to sort the boat out next week, next month, next year ... Very very sad. In his mind the boat is as he bought it, immaculate and still at the same value, despite the thousands it is draining from his inheritors, who have not a clue as to its value, apart from that that Dad advises.

Eventually Dad is either persuaded to give it up, or worse he loses his vote (!), and the kids then sole idea of value is what Dad had said it was worth.

By then several years have passed and the boat is a sorry relic.

At that point the boat is worth the same as if it were in pristine condition, less of course the cost to get it back there, and cost means time as well as materials.

Some boats will sink to a marginal or even a negative value, and at this point all romance in buying a boat must be set aside and hard economics takes over.

This principal of purchasing worked for me, and if history repeats in say 20 - 30 years then hey ho !

 

[Baddox]

A classic case of Old Man Syndrome - SNIP !

Nicely rationalised. The boat is a combination of memories and dream to someone but just a liability to others.

 

[Joker]

a a few years ago, I was at a loose end, and decided to buy a "project boat". I looked at several Trapper 500s, and there was one which had been ashore or a long time, the decks green with moss, as were the halyards. We went inside, and I took one look at the windows. They will leak, said I (and they did). There was a grating in the cockpit, and as I stood on it, there was a horrible crunching sound. And so it went on.

According to the broker, it had been on the market for some considerable sum, and for some considerable time. At the price being asked, no one was interested. It sat there, the owner paid the fees for being ashore, and it gradually rotted. The price dropped and dropped. I'm not sure what the current price had been – perhaps £6000?

I told the broker that the boat was a money pit (which it was). I made an offer of £2000, which I considered derisory. To my surprise, the offer was accepted. I bought the boat.

I enjoyed my brief time with it, and enjoyed fettling it up. I even sold it for a profit.

However, the moral of the tale is that if the owner had put it on the market in the first place at a reasonable value, he would have saved himself considerable grief and expense. It might have been his pride and joy, but to others, it was just a boat.

 

[Seven Spades]

So how much should one pay for Discovery 55 2008, then what will is be worth in 2026?


http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/core/li...1005&cit=true&No=0&Ns=PBoat_sortByPriceDesc|1

 

[Strolls]

But this has really always been the case; boats are put on the market in poor condition with hugely optimistic asking prices, then languish for ages, with periodic price reductions, until the owners finally see sense.

If that's a reply to my comment (#9) then the boat is quite good nick in the photos - I'm only assuming it's deteriorated over the last 3 years.

I guess I have to give the owner credit for being realistic enough to keep lowering his asking price, as opposed to those boats I see which are minging even in the original pics.

 

[roblpm]

So how much should one pay for Discovery 55 2008, then what will is be worth in 2026?


http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/core/li...1005&cit=true&No=0&Ns=PBoat_sortByPriceDesc|1

Am i missing something? One for 600k, one for 250k?!

 

[Budgieboy]

Trying to sell to upgrade to a blue water yacht ... The way I approached it is to see what's on the market and underprice them , hopefully to get a sale , as well as that she is far better kitted than the ones she is competing against , still no luck so carrying on as normal , lifted as I speak and anti fouling etc so if someone comes along they can just sail off , other than that what do you do ? ...

 

[Seven Spades]

Am i missing something? One for 600k, one for 250k?!

Yes the one for £250K is a blind auction.

 

[Tranona]

Yes the one for £250K is a blind auction.

And an indication that £500k would get it - like an auctioneer's estimate. All plus VAT of course, so expect a successful bidder will have to pay over £600k to get it.

Headline of £250k does attract you though!