SAILBOAT BROKERAGE MARKET REPORT

Editor’s Note: John Burnham, editorial director of YachtWorld.com, filed the following article about the sailboat brokerage market. This includes a brief summation of the original report.

At the end of 2010, the U.S. market for brokerage sailboats had made gains over the previous year. According to reports by YachtWorld.com brokers in their proprietary database, SoldBoats.com, sales of 5,688 boats reflected a 5-percent increase from 2009 when 5,414 boats were sold. Total sales valuation of $415 million was 5 percent higher than 2009, meaning the average selling price stayed level.

Although the year-end outlook was positive, the last four months of the year were not; otherwise 2010 might have concluded with double-digit growth. From September through December, unit sales were lower every month compared to the same month in 2009. And on a percentage basis, total valuation of those sales was even lower.

Compared to the pre-recession valuation of all sailboat sales, the gains in 2010 were incremental. In most months in 2007, the value of boats sold was in the $40- to $60 million range. In the worst period of 2008 and 2009, that dropped to anywhere from $15 to $40 million per month. For 2010, most months were between $25 and $45 million. So far in 2011, that pattern has continued.

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