Boat Sales in trouble?

jac

jac

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Was browsing on Boatshed (other internet sales sites are available) and was struck but what seemed to be a lot of boats on there with price reductions. Given that the cuts haven't really fed through yet just wondering what will happen to boat sales over the coming months / year or two.

Personally - too risky to spend £30k in the current environment and I'm sure that I'm not the only person in that situation but it does make you wonder how long any slump in sales might last. I can;t see 2011 being a bumper year by any stretch of the imagination.

It also makes me wonder about the longer term health of the industry. It's been said before that boat owning is more prevalent amongst older people - but as baby boomers move into retirement with fewer and fewer getting the generous pensions that people used to have, how many pensioners will be able to retain their boats as long as they once would? Add that to a younger generation saddled with large mortgages to buy a house, needing to invest more into their pension or save to prevent their kids getting huge debts via university fees and flat or falling house prices then it doesn't make for the healthiest of backgrounds for marine businesses.
 
If I had £30k and was boatless I couldn't think of anything better than spending it on a boat. You will be getting next to nothing from it sitting in the bank. As long as you don't get put off by the asking prices there are plenty of deals to be done with boats that are presently for sale.
 
Marina / mooring costs are the biggest problem to overcome. One might take 10 years to save say £8,000 for a craft, then having to face £4,000 per year marina costs. This excludes many from owning. The alternative is to apply for a lower cost swinging mooring and wait for one to come up in a few years whilst saving. I can remember when marinas were first talked about, the costs were going to be not much more than swinging moorings because a lot more boats could be accomodated in a smaller space. That promise didn't last long !
 
theoldplucker said:
Marina / mooring costs are the biggest problem to overcome. One might take 10 years to save say £8,000 for a craft, then having to face £4,000 per year marina costs. This excludes many from owning. The alternative is to apply for a lower cost swinging mooring and wait for one to come up in a few years whilst saving. I can remember when marinas were first talked about, the costs were going to be not much more than swinging moorings because a lot more boats could be accomodated in a smaller space. That promise didn't last long !
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There was a time when the RYA used to campaign vigorously against the displacement of traditional moorings by marinas. Then they took wodges of money in sponsorship from Marina Developments plc and their resolve collapsed with remarkable swiftness.
 
I pay £1300 pa for my swinging mooring in Chi harbour, I enquired about a berth at Northney Marina which I use a fair bit for fuel and such like and they wanted £5300 pa, there is just no comparison,the money I save on the mooring can go on the boat, if I had no choice about going into a marina it would put boat ownership in to question and I’m sure I’m not alone in being in that position.
 
I dont think the brokers are doing that badly at the moment with used craft, maybe due to the weak pound and all the foreigners coming over to grab a bargain
 
duncan99210 said:
Part of the problem is living in the wrong part of the country. Come up to North Wales and you can have a swinging mooring for not a lot of cash in the Menai or at Holyhead. Equally, winter berths in the marinas aren't too expensive and the beers much cheaper up there as well......
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Ssch........They'll all want to come
 
I'm astonished at this type of thread, reason is that the brokers I know would have had a better year than the reasonable one they had, if they had more boats for sale. But maybe that is why there appears to be so many boats for sale on the internet. People want to sell their boat, for whatever reason, but want to try to escape the associated fees, so try the DIY route and the boat remains unsold. Had the boat been placed on proper brokerage, well, it may be sold.
 
Don’t worry you’re safe because anything I’d save on the mooring/berthing fees would be eaten up in fuel costs of travelling to and from the boat and instead of the 20 min drive to I have now it would take several hours, so I’m stuck down here and have to suffer the costs, I’ve been told that for what I pay in mooring fess here I could get a marina berth in France but the same applies in terms of access to the boat, it’s just one of the joys on living near the Solent, but at the end of the day I have a boat I can go sailing in on a regular basis so who cares :)
 
Getting back to the topic of the thread, the price reductions are probably due to the fact that I think people in general are still a bit nervous about what’s going to happen with the economy and jobs, so more supply than demand and we all know what happen then, those that have to sell don’t get such a good price and those that don’t have to sell, don’t.
 
I reckon that second hand boats will go the same way as second hand cars. A collapse in price to a new lower reality. A lot of the smaller craft will simply become uneconomic and be disposed off to cut ones losses.

A 35' yacht is around £3900 on a Clyde Marina. This type of cash can be, and is afforded through lifestyle choices, for those who desire a boat but are of modest income. Of course the variables are many and what is a modest income? However, people run low cost cars, buy inexpensive waterproofs, pay £10,000 or less for a nice boat and keep it in a marina. Those folks are still around and more join them, some even pay multiples of £10k for their boat!

I think boat value to overheads ratio is somewhat overplayed. Most folks enter this sport / hobby / leisure pursuit with a fair dose of realism.

For example: I paid £42k for my 1973 41' boat about 3 years ago. It was offered for sale at £59k by the vendor. I reckon if I chose to sell it I will unload it for less than £40k. Its a lot of boat, in good condition but is of a style that is no longer modern. I dont have a problem with that and I believe that eventually this down pricing will become obvious in the initial prices offered. After all, paying £3900 per year for a yacht that is not used for those on modest incomes, is a lot of money to waste.
 
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galadriel said:
I'm astonished at this type of thread, reason is that the brokers I know would have had a better year than the reasonable one they had, if they had more boats for sale. But maybe that is why there appears to be so many boats for sale on the internet. People want to sell their boat, for whatever reason, but want to try to escape the associated fees, so try the DIY route and the boat remains unsold. Had the boat been placed on proper brokerage, well, it may be sold.
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Suspect that the boats that don't sell privately, wouldn't through a broker either for similar reasons - over-priced and poorly presented. When selling privately you can factor in the brokers saving and therefore make you boat competitive on pricing without losing anything.
 
rb_stretch said:
Suspect that the boats that don't sell privately, wouldn't through a broker either for similar reasons - over-priced and poorly presented. When selling privately you can factor in the brokers saving and therefore make you boat competitive on pricing without losing anything.
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Ah! Now there may lie the problem, possibly people trying to sell poorly prepared/presented boats, still asking the price you would pay via a broker, I dont know but just maybe. Maybe the boats that were well presented, priced sensibly are now long gone from the listings.
 
Maybe

rb_stretch said:
Suspect that the boats that don't sell privately, wouldn't through a broker either for similar reasons - over-priced and poorly presented. When selling privately you can factor in the brokers saving and therefore make you boat competitive on pricing without losing anything.
Click to expand...

You may have done that, hence your success with selling your boat (well done by the way). However, I think most people think 'How dare that broker say my boat is worth x. In it's great condition, with all the money I've spent, I know it is worth at least x+10k. I know, I'll sell it myself, show him and keep the 5/6/7/8% for myself!' 1 year later, boat still unsold, so start a thread on here about the state of the market. Human nature if you ask me!

You are right though, it is down to presentation and price. However brokers do seem to have something to offer, I guess in guidance on price. I see a higher percentage of sensibly priced sold or under offer boats on broker listing than in private listings. Just my view.
 
Our experience a couple of years ago was a winter of aimless private advertising and a cr4p broker followed by move to a good broker and sold within 1 month ...
 
There is a real shortage of decent 35 - 40 foot 5 - 10 year old AWB boats for sale with the brokers on the Hamble. New listings sell quickly. I know as I am actively looking.

It is a pity that the brokers cannot see to offering a more realistic fee for selling. Compared to estate agents they are highway robbers and this is probably the reason for lack of boats for sale.
 
brians said:
There is a real shortage of decent 35 - 40 foot 5 - 10 year old AWB boats for sale with the brokers on the Hamble. New listings sell quickly. I know as I am actively looking.

It is a pity that the brokers cannot see to offering a more realistic fee for selling. Compared to estate agents they are highway robbers and this is probably the reason for lack of boats for sale.
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I think you addressed the issue in the first part of your second paragraph with what you said in the first.
 
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