May 2012 Market Report

May was a ‘big’ month in many respects, but the spike in yacht sales that we saw this time last year did not materialise, and in fact went in the opposite direction.

May 2012 in numbers

Brokerage Sales

We reported 17 yacht sales in May, compared to 24 in April, a 29% drop. More significant is a 54% drop year on year. Indeed, this time last year we were reporting at least a sale a day on average (37 yachts sold in May 2011). Comparing the first five months of this year with the same period in 2011, sales are down 20%.

On a more positive note, the total asking prices of the yachts sold in May was €232 million, the highest it has been for 10 months. There were nine sales over 40m, three of which were yachts still under construction: Heesen’s Project California, a Vulcan 46 and a 60m Benetti, the largest sale so far this year in terms of asking price (€48 million).

Superyacht sales in 2012

New to the market

Whilst another 30 yachts came on the market in May, the speed with which the market is growing is slowing down: 157 yachts have been added to the market so far this year, compared to 186 in the same period last year, a 16% drop.

The standout announcement came from Y.CO, who are now listing the 90m schooner Athena for sale, the largest entrant to the market for quite some time. They have also signed the 42m J-Class replica Hanuman.

Price reductions

We reported 85 price reductions in May, the most we have ever reported in a single month since we started publishing brokerage news online three and a half years ago. It is 47% higher than last month, and a massive 81% higher than May last year. The combined value of the reductions was €83 million, which is also a new high.

The cuts aren’t necessarily getting any bigger – the average was 12%, which is similar to previous months – there were just more of them. That said, we are seeing some yachts undergoing multiple cuts: 39 yachts have had more than one cut this year, and some have had as many as four. Cinque Star had three in May alone.

The most significant price reduction was 51% off a 29m sloop, the largest cut this year.

The 90m Athena came on the market in May

Fraser Yachts sold a new 60m Benetti in May

The 147m Topaz was launched by Lürssen in May

New orders

We recorded nine new orders in May, all of them motor yachts. The largest we reported was a 63.1m from Sunrise Yachts, although an order was also placed for an 80m but we cannot reveal the name of the yard.

These take the total number of new orders so far this year to 32, compared to 46 in the same period last year, a drop of 30%.

New superyacht orders in 2012

Launches

May was a strong month for superyacht launches with 18, of which 12 were in Italy. Proteksan Turquoise launched its new flagship, the 73m Vicky. But the highlight was without doubt the launch of the 147m Topaz by Lürssen, set to become the world’s 4th largest yacht when she is delivered later this year.

Superyacht launches in 2012

Deliveries

We recorded 13 deliveries in May, the largest of which was the 67.7m Feadship Drizzle. Other notable deliveries include the 60.4m Areti by Trinity Yachts and the 45m Ouranos by Tecnomar.

We also reported the delivery of the 39.95m Rainbow by Holland Jachtbouw in time for the J Class racing series in Cowes later this month.

Superyacht deliveries in 2012