Yacht Sales in United States Continue to Climb in 2011

Yacht brokerage sales for 2011 may have peaked in June, when 3,446 boats were sold, but the market in July showed continued incremental growth, with 3,117 boats sold, up 2% from July 2010. In addition, the total value of yachts sold in the month was very strong for the 3rd consecutive month, according to U.S. yacht brokerages firms reporting closing prices in the Soldboats.com database. Total valuation was $338 million, up $60 million or 21% from the July 2010.

Because of July’s strength, the year-to-date numbers for the U.S. market showed continued improvement. After a slow start to the year, the number of boats that have changed hands after 7 months was down only 2% or 321 boats compared to 2010, with 18,495 sold. In the same time period, the total value of the boats sold climbed to $2.2 billion, a 15% gain over 2010.

Although sales were 54 boats higher than July 2010, when compared to the 5-year average of 3,209 boats, July sales of 3,117 boats were down slightly. They also were down slightly from 2009, when 3,180 boats were sold.

The average time it took to sell a yacht came down in July from 279 days to 267, a 4% shift. For the year so far, the average time to sell was down 3 days, to 282.

Source: John Burnham, Editorial Director of Dominion Marine Media