Buying yacht..best time year for a deal?

[Mishoo]

What is the best time of year to get a good deal on a 30/32ft 70s era racer cruiser yacht? There are a lot of high asking prices out there.
Broker tells me nothing is shifting at the moment.

Is it October, before Christmas, January or when the season starts in April.

Obviously seller will be under pressure to get it off the marinas hard standing ASAP.

 

[bert49uk]

anytime is best time, at the moment its a buyers market just make a realistic offer

 

[gjgm]

What is the best time of year to get a good deal on a 30/32ft 70s era racer cruiser yacht? There are a lot of high asking prices out there.
Broker tells me nothing is shifting at the moment.

Is it October, before Christmas, January or when the season starts in April.

Obviously seller will be under pressure to get it off the marinas hard standing ASAP.

I never heard of a buyer that didnt think prices were high !
As regards marinas, many are payable monthly so there might be a psychological reason to sell before hand, but it isnt critical.
Old adage was that the best choice of boats to buy is in winter, the worst choice once the season starts.
Just make your offer.. they can always say no !

 

[wazza]

As has been said.. its a buyers market..
I know for a fact that the price of our type of yacht has dropped by about 20%, OBVIOUSLY a lot does depends on equipment & how much will follow with the boat..
And if you find a boat you fancy, Google it and see how much they 'normally' cost and then put in an offer..

 

[Bobc]

One thing to watch, is that at this time of year, most of the boats for sale are the ones that have been for sale for ages (almost always for a good reason).

 

[haydude]

The best time is when you find the one you want to buy, and by the way ... there is no such thing as a "buyers'" market for good second hand yachts. In fact I believe that is a sellers' market for good boats, because they are really hard to find.

Why? Because price of new boats have sky rocketed due to the devaluation of the Sterling Pound, therefore owners are holding to their boats and taking care of them rather than selling.

At the start of the credit crunch there were very good deals to be had, with charters and brokers going into administration, owners under-selling to repay their debts. But that was 2008. The yacht owners selling now, no longer sell because they have to, but because they might want to go through an upgrade. And rest assured they will not under sell anymore, they would rather hold on to their boats.

Of course there are boats that remain unsold after several months, but if you look closer there is going to be something wrong with them. In the best case an asking price too high to begin with or a model that really nobody wants. For less than 10 yo privately owned and well maintaned cruisers, it is a sellers' market.

 

[rob2]

No absolutes, but usually the best prices in any given year are through from the end of the season to about February. Usually boats are sold "as is" during this period, so the seller doesn't spend the year's maintenance budget on the boat.

A couple of months ago one of my boat's sister ships was sold for half the asking price, the owner really needed to shift it and I don't believe there was anything significantly wrong, just a bit scruffy at the end of an under-used season.

Rob.

 

[Tranona]

No general pattern. If boats are not selling it is because either sellers won't accept the prices on offer or buyers are not prepared to pay the price asked.

If sellers are desparate to sell prices may fall, equally if buyers are desparate to buy, prices will rise. However, if neither sellers nor buyers are under pressure, there is no incentive to change the status quo and the market stagnates - which is what is happening now. This of course may change in individual cases, so if you see a boat you like, make an offer. But don't get upset if it is refused - this is just the buyer saying that he would rather keep his boat than have your money!

 

[wazza]

and by the way ... there is no such thing as a "buyers'" market for good second hand yachts. In fact I believe that is a sellers' market for good.

Well I completely disagree with regards to here in Sweden anyway.. FACT Najad 343 3 years ago 900,000 SEK & now you can pick one up, list price without an offer starting at 690,000SEK.. HR 36 has dropped by 400,000SEK within an 8 month period, now if that's not a buyers market, well..
A friend of mine sold his boat 2 years ago & has been looking to buy again but says prices just keep on dropping..

 

[ukmctc]

What is the best time of year to get a good deal on a 30/32ft 70s era racer cruiser yacht? There are a lot of high asking prices out there.
Broker tells me nothing is shifting at the moment.

Is it October, before Christmas, January or when the season starts in April.

Obviously seller will be under pressure to get it off the marinas hard standing ASAP.

marinas don't care if the boat sells while on the hard as they get fees while it sits there. but the question is good the answer is now while people are struggling for cash, ask the marinas who owes them money, clear the debt, own the boat, I bought my trapper 500 like that, got it half price. See what you want, make an offer, don't go back on it, if you don't get it, move on, no second offer they'll chase you if they need it sold. Always offer at least 20% less than asking price, in these times, 30% less or more. Now is the time to buy.

 

[Boo2]

What is the best time of year to get a good deal on a 30/32ft 70s era racer cruiser yacht? There are a lot of high asking prices out there.
Broker tells me nothing is shifting at the moment.

Is it October, before Christmas, January or when the season starts in April.

I asked this same question a couple of years ago and after around 2 years of looking I reckon March through August is the best part of the year to find a boat.

Obviously seller will be under pressure to get it off the marinas hard standing ASAP.

The seller is under most pressure when the boat is afloat as that costs more than hardstanding IME.

Boo2

 

[Boo2]

A friend of mine sold his boat 2 years ago & has been looking to buy again but says prices just keep on dropping..

Also worth remembering the old truism that it's best to buy in a falling market and sell in a rising one...

Boo2

 

[Lady Campanula]

"There ain't no such animule as a seller's market! Cash is always king.....

 

[wazza]

Also worth remembering the old truism that it's best to buy in a falling market and sell in a rising one...

Boo2

Errr... why? Surely you'd feel as you lost/didn't get as much money on both accounts..
It doesn't bother me that I paid more money for my boat 5 years ago than she worth today, as I've had 5 wonderful years with her. And also I'm a firm believer in as long as you are happy the price is good then that's ok..

 

[sighmoon]

Always offer at least 20% less than asking price, in these times, 30% less or more. Now is the time to buy.

How much to offer depends on what you think the boat is worth. FWIW, my own boats have been bought for 53%, 80% and 98% of the asking price. I might have been able to buy the 98% one for less, but it seemed more likely he'd hang on and sell it to someone else instead.

I don't know what age you're looking at, but when boats get to a certain age, it can be hard to find a good one, and when you do, it'll probably be cheaper than fixing up a lesser boat.

Now is always the time to start looking and when you find one your wife likes the look of, that's the time to buy.

 

[E39mad]

I don't think you can generalise. The price you can obtain a used boat for will depend on many things:

1) The vendor's desperation (or not) to sell
2) The number of people looking for that type of boat (popular boats in short supply may sell quickly and for "good" money) whereas if there is a lot of choice of the same model you may be able negotiate harder
3) Whether the price has already been reduced
4) The length of time the boat has been on the market
5) Remember each vendor is different and the same tactic may not work with everyone - tailor your approach accordingly.

 

[yoda]

Well I have recently picked up a real bargain. I looked at well known makes, was prepared to travel to view and am prepared to spend a little having the boat moved by road rather than using my time and holiday travelling and delivering it back home. I ended up buying in Scotland and it's being delivered by road (about £1000). You just have to think that it's part of the purchase price and not worry about it. I did find some boats at realistic prices but when you got to them they needed so much spending that you would have been better buying a top notch example. There are however some very realistically priced boats out there - they just take some finding.

Yoda