Wait till Spring ?

[Glory Days]

Hi......I will shortly in a position to buy a Beneteau 423....the five that were available here in Ontario have sold in the past three months.
Do sellers more usually tend to put their boats up for sale at the end of the season or in the spring ? IE Are more likely to come on the market soon?
Is there a pattern ?

Thanks for any info.

[rbk]

People tend to sell in the fall. If you wait until spring you’ll pay a premium and be in competition with other buyers wanting to get on the water.

[Knotical]

Agree with rbk, also, come spring owners thinking of selling may wait a few more months to enjoy “one more season.”

[J-Racer]

I would typically agree with the posts above though that has not been the case this past year with the pandemic. It was the single highest year of boat sales ever recorded. I would predict that this will continue into 2021 as well. I had been in the market to purchase for about a year prior, just waiting for my house to sell. I had my short list of about 5 boats all had been sitting on the market for at least 18-24 months until late spring 2021. I sold my house in July and 3 of the 5 had sold. On top of that most were getting close to their asking price (if they were reasonable to begin with). I lucked out and found another one that had recently come on the market and the owner was motivated due to health conditions to get rid of it. I negotiated a fair price for it and I am happy though don't expect getting any really good deals in 2021 like pre-pandemic when boats had been sitting on the market for a long time. With that said I think you can still find good boats at fair prices.

[sail sfbay]

Originally Posted by Glory Days

Hi......I will shortly in a position to buy a Beneteau 423....the five that were available here in Ontario have sold in the past three months............Do sellers more usually tend to put their boats up for sale at the end of the season or in the spring ? IE Are more likely to come on the market soon? Is there a pattern?..............

What you are seeing a strong used boat market due to Covid that is why the 5 sold in past 3 months. One local San Francisco boat broker told me 2020 was the biggest selling boat year they have ever had.

In my experience boats go on the market all throughout the year. I bought and sold boats at all different times of the year. Having said that, I purchased a Symbol Sundeck 44 motorboat in October 2020 and a Hunter 46 in December 2018, both of which were put on the market in the spring. I put my Hunter 31 and Hunter 386 up for sale in the winter. So not sure there is a pattern.

[jim King]

I'm sure boat prices will be higher in the late spring to summer when people are eager to use a new boat. Winter time not so eager to sail and the prices and demand are lower.

[goboatingnow]

Always try to buy in the autumn , sellers are keen to avoid winter fees on a boat they don’t intend to own.

Right now though , if you like it , buy it, because someone else will

[EarlWer]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Always try to buy in the autumn , sellers are keen to avoid winter fees on a boat they don’t intend to own.

Right now though , if you like it , buy it, because someone else will

Unfortunately, here in the east side of Canada, the freezing weather makes inspections somewhat difficult. Any water will be frozen...

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by jim King

I'm sure boat prices will be higher in the late spring to summer when people are eager to use a new boat. Winter time not so eager to sail and the prices and demand are lower.

Maybe in some climates but certainly not true everywhere.

[EarlWer]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Maybe in some climates but certainly not true everywhere.

OP cares. 'Location: Ontario' So do I.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by EarlWer

Unfortunately, here in the east side of Canada, the freezing weather makes inspections somewhat difficult. Any water will be frozen...

Which is why no tries to buy in the depths of winter , the best time is at the end of the sailing season but the boat is still in service. Of course year round benign climates tend to have year round sales activity

[Glory Days]

Thanks all , for replying......helpful.
For now I will wait impatiently !

[SailingOneLife]

Hi,
I'm not sure of any pattern in Ontario as I bought my Beneteau in France. I knew in March I had the funds available and I completed the purchase in May. It was a busy time for buyers and the previous owner pretty much stuck to their price as they knew more buyers were available. However I still got a great deal and I got the boat I wanted. I had a clear spec on what I wanted, and when I saw the boat, I knew I was buying it. So paying £5k more than I wanted was fine by me. I'm now happily living onboard in Ibiza and the best decision of my life
Best of luck finding her!!

[nuru05]

Originally Posted by rbk

People tend to sell in the fall. If you wait until spring you’ll pay a premium and be in competition with other buyers wanting to get on the water.

Does this tend to hold true for other parts of the world? The wife and I are just starting to look for a boat to purchase in the next year or so. Ideally we'd like to start in the Caribbean. Are the prices the best during the fall there as well? Or does hurricane season change this?

[nuru05]

Originally Posted by J-Racer

I would typically agree with the posts above though that has not been the case this past year with the pandemic. It was the single highest year of boat sales ever recorded. I would predict that this will continue into 2021 as well. I had been in the market to purchase for about a year prior, just waiting for my house to sell. I had my short list of about 5 boats all had been sitting on the market for at least 18-24 months until late spring 2021. I sold my house in July and 3 of the 5 had sold. On top of that most were getting close to their asking price (if they were reasonable to begin with). I lucked out and found another one that had recently come on the market and the owner was motivated due to health conditions to get rid of it. I negotiated a fair price for it and I am happy though don't expect getting any really good deals in 2021 like pre-pandemic when boats had been sitting on the market for a long time. With that said I think you can still find good boats at fair prices.

The wife and I are getting ready to buy towards the end of this year or into spring of 2022. I noticed the huge amount of boat sales this year and it was making me hope that all these people would realize just how expensive a boat is and how little they actually used it and cause a surplus of boats to hit the market next spring.