Used Boat Prices Falling

[anutami]

14 hours ago, UWSkier said:

Not seeing it here in AZ yet.  New home construction still going bananas.  Still can't find roofers to do anything other than a complete replacement.  They don't have time for small repair jobs.  Lake has been busier than I can remember.  I haven't had a good ski set on glass calm water since I left Wisconsin on August 10th.  Shocking amounts of boat traffic, even midweek at 5:45 am.  Fishermen, slalom skiers, and guys who haven't given up the wakeboard dreams out there in their knee braces.

Our plumbing sales are down 18% and New residential construction is down roughly 40% from last year in AZ. 

[rennis]

What we are all seeing is symptomatic of economic trends that affect different parts of the country and different industries in very different ways.  I thought of Hulk when I read this note from an economist in his newsletter last Friday:

Quote

County Employment and Wages

325 of the country’s 360 largest counties added jobs over the past year. Midland County, TX, home to a large cluster of oil and gas production, experienced the biggest increase (+8.5%). Elkhart County, IN, which touts itself as “The RV capital of the world,” experienced the biggest decrease (-4.6%).

What should we take from this? With oil production near a record high, it’s a good time to be in the oil and gas industry. With interest rates at the highest level in decades, it’s a bad time to be manufacturing RVs

 

[CDAWake]

51 minutes ago, rennis said:

What should we take from this? With oil production near a record high, it’s a good time to be in the oil and gas industry. With interest rates at the highest level in decades, it’s a bad time to be manufacturing RVs

Haha, possibly the best economic analysis I’ve ever read 

[The Hulk]

Especially when supplies continue to get cut.. maybe boat MFGs should cut more too.. ha

Used boat prices here continue to tick down.. talked to a few people now that were hyped on selling end of the season and now are second guessing even selling as they're not getting traction on their listings For what they thought they could get. They both are at a point if they go lower to them it's not worth selling..  although they Also had ideas of selling at a profit or no loss.. 

Edited September 7, 2023 by The Hulk

[The Hulk]

9 hours ago, rennis said:

What we are all seeing is symptomatic of economic trends that affect different parts of the country and different industries in very different ways.  I thought of Hulk when I read this note from an economist in his newsletter last Friday:

 

-4.6% .. must be lagging data.. RV sales are down -49% YTD.. although employment data always lags reality.. next up.. boating which tends to now lag RV.. 

 

But as they say follow the money.. or should we say the government money... or the chips act to find your boom Towns.. Haha 

 

Was interesting perspective after talking to an RV dealer . he said some places the country are so overstocked while others hardly have much And there's a lot of shuffling going on.. some guys selling at losses to get it off the books and other guys in limited inventory areas still selling high... 

[YeloBlammo]

In new England, used inventory seems to be increasing. Older boats have still held pricing fairly well but there's some decent deals now in the $70K-$100 range.

My uneducated opinion

Edited September 12, 2023 by YeloBlammo

[MikeR397]

St. Clair boat show is this Thursday-Sunday. I’m hoping for some decent Axis incentives, but this “best time to buy, $3,000 off” on their website is a joke and I’ll be buying used or waiting if that’s it. https://www.axiswake.com/news/year-end-sales-event

Edited September 11, 2023 by MikeR397

[OtherBoatisaCessna]

So…. is there any question used boat prices are falling at this point?  Seems like they’re tanking pretty good all of a sudden.  Seem lots of good deals - at least good for the moment - floating by on my Facebook feed.  

[cowwboy]

9 hours ago, OtherBoatisaCessna said:

So…. is there any question used boat prices are falling at this point?  Seems like they’re tanking pretty good all of a sudden.  Seem lots of good deals - at least good for the moment - floating by on my Facebook feed.  

I've noticed a lot of stagnant listings. I tend to keep an eye on boats of the same generation as mine (02 vlx). A few I know would have sold in a few days /week last year are still for sale from mid summer.  
I'm still waiting on a smoking deal on a x-80 with closed cooling. 

[kstateskier1]

Boats below about $60k seem to stay flat and haven't seen much drop in prices, but seeing a lot of drops in the higher end stuff.  Maybe just paying closer attention to them in general, but 22/24 MXZ in the '18-20ish range seem to have taken the biggest slide.  Saw a '19 24MXZ for $89 last week.  That's probably a $135k boat last summer.

 

Also a lot of G's sliding into that high 90/low 100s range all of a sudden.

Edited September 20, 2023 by kstateskier1

[cowwboy]

1 hour ago, kstateskier1 said:

Boats below about $60k seem to stay flat and haven't seen much drop in prices, but seeing a lot of drops in the higher end stuff.  Maybe just paying closer attention to them in general, but 22/24 MXZ in the '18-20ish range seem to have taken the biggest slide.  Saw a '19 24MXZ for $89 last week.  That's probably a $135k boat last summer.

 

Also a lot of G's sliding into that high 90/low 100s range all of a sudden.

I'd guess finance rates and loan term limits hit those harder then the sub 60k. 

[Nick55]

I bought a boat 3 weeks ago that came back on the market after someone found out that interest was 11% for a 20 year loan with 20% down (the minimum available).  I was not interested  in financing a 60k boat.  That boat was on market for a while before it sold.  I will say, this boat has a new engine due to improper winterizing and it had a fresh interior last year, so even if it sold for a bit of a premium for end of the season buys, it’s less I have to deal with.  

[dizzygti]

10 minutes ago, Nick55 said:

after someone found out that interest was 11% for a 20 year loan

Yikes! 

[Steve B.]

On a case like above, maybe they only keep it 3 years or so then sell (depending on loan payoff) and in a good market maybe come close to even.

[cowwboy]

I still struggle with the thought of people getting a 20yr boat note.

[Murphys]

13 minutes ago, cowwboy said:

I still struggle with the thought of people getting a 20yr boat note.

There is an old saying:"Poor financial decisions are good for the economy." 

[Nick55]

If you put a boat on a 20 year note and keep it 3 years at 10-11% interest you’re going to pay next to nothing in principal during that timeframe.  At 3-4% it’s not quite as bad and could be attributed to cost of ownership for a few years. 

[wakesonthesnake]

I had a couple of people that looked at my 45000ish dollar boat and backed away after talking to their bank.  

 

[OtherBoatisaCessna]

I cringe a little about the 23MXZ I bought before this season watching some of the late model 23MXZ listings float by on my threads.  But then again, I would have had to give up this entire summer's worth of boating with the family, and that's not really worth almost any price and I knew that was the upside/downside when I bought... So, whatever, it is what it is.  But damn, I just saw an year-old M220 loaded with something like 30 hours for a buck thirty... ouch for me. 

Of course, now I can't find that listing.  I suppose it's already sold or it was in error.  

[Five Cent Worth]

22 hours ago, Murphys said:

There is an old saying:"Poor financial decisions are good for the economy." 

We are so good at getting threads back to finance vs cash.  (And towing capacity of your tow vehicle, does the swim step brackets drag while surfing and a few others that elude me right now....)  Still shocked we can't have an appreciation that some people value different things.  One family loves to count cash and take the time to fill fat sacks to surf and some other family likes the modern amenities and doesn't mind paying some interest.  

 

[YeloBlammo]

20 hours ago, OtherBoatisaCessna said:

I cringe a little about the 23MXZ I bought before this season watching some of the late model 23MXZ listings float by on my threads.  But then again, I would have had to give up this entire summer's worth of boating with the family, and that's not really worth almost any price and I knew that was the upside/downside when I bought... So, whatever, it is what it is.  But damn, I just saw an year-old M220 loaded with something like 30 hours for a buck thirty... ouch for me. 

Of course, now I can't find that listing.  I suppose it's already sold or it was in error.  

I wanted to do the similar but sell during covid and profit and wait until now (or more) to buy in again at a post-covid sale....but that would be 2+ years not boating with the kids

(i did see that M220 for sale too)

 

People are still listing their houses here (NH/ME seacoast) at excessive prices and a lot are sitting. There's 3 pages of homes in a coastal town that a check regularly. There still are sales on the $1mil+ or  less than $300K homes.Common-folk homes are all sitting overpriced at $600k-$1mil when those houses used to be $250-$500K.

[Slayer]

This makes me a little cringe a bit........

[Slayer]

Seems awfully cheap for a 25LSV.  Must have limited options.  Nearly all others I've seen recently are $170+ for 2022 and up.

[Nick55]

Just deleted my previous post, I misread that as being a 23’.  No reg numbers in the pic, one photo on the ad, priced too good to be true, what are the odds this one is legit?

[Slayer]

1 hour ago, Nick55 said:

Just deleted my previous post, I misread that as being a 23’.  No reg numbers in the pic, one photo on the ad, priced too good to be true, what are the odds this one is legit?

Great point!