Following last month’s news of 15 reported brokerage sales, April’s figures bring even better news with 21 sales recorded and we have to bear in mind that there are always sales that slip under the radar because of client confidentiality. Hein Velema, CEO of Fraser Yachts, is unequivocal, saying that, “I see the market has hit the bottom.” He goes on to say, “History teaches us that the market for second hand yachts always does well during recessions. We don’t need to wait for an economic recovery to see a rise in sales.” The data we present below certainly appears to bear him out.
| Name | Length | Builder | Asking Price | Listing Broker | Buyer Broker |
| African Queen D | 30.50m | San Lorenzo | € 2,460,000 | Fraser Yachts | Fraser Yachts |
| Aurora | 42.00m | Kanter Yachts | $2,495,000 | Northrop & Johnson | Northrop & Johnson |
| Babe | 28.40m | Monte Fino | $1,550,000 | Fraser Yachts | Northrop & Johnson |
| Blowzy | 47.60m | Heesen | € 9,950,000 | Edmiston | Engel & Voelkers |
| Evanna | 36.30m | Philipp Ebert & Sohn | € 1,300,000 | De Valk | De Valk |
| Fansea | 33.20m | Cyrus / Vitters | € 5,250,000 | Fraser Yachts | Fraser Yachts |
| Gale Winds | 26.50m | Broward | $2,150,000 | Bartram & Brakenhoff | Woods & Associates |
| Hebridean Spirit | 90.00m | Cantieri Apuania | n/a | None | Ocean Independence |
| Inspiration | 47.54m | Broward | $9,850,000 | IYC | Merle Wood |
| Lara | 38.00m | Delta Marine | $7,250,000 | Northrop & Johnson | Ardell |
| Lone Ranger | 77.40m | Schichau Unterweser | $42,000,000 | Ardell | Ardell |
| Magic Cat | 25.00m | Multiplast | € 3,000,000 | Haas International | Bernard Gallay |
| Miss Penny | 24.30m | Offshore | $3,250,000 | Northrop & Johnson | Offshore West |
| Mustang | 25.30m | Camper & Nicholsons | n/a | None | Northrop & Johnson |
| My Girl | 28.90m | Kha Shing – Hargrave | $3,750,000 | Marine Max | Marine Max |
| Paola | 34.50m | Codecasa | € 7,250,000 | Ocean Independence | Ocean Independence |
| Phoenix | 39.60m | Davie Shipbuilding | $2,995,000 | All Ocean Yachts | Bollman Yachts |
| Saudade of Hamilton | 34.20m | Royal Huisman | € 4,900,000 | Ocean Independence | Sparkman & Stephens |
| Silver | 74.00m | Hanseatic Marine | POA | Burgess / YCO | YPI |
| Vanilla | 29.00m | Ferretti | € 3,500,000 | None | Camper & Nicholsons |
| Wildcat | 28.00m | Paragon | $4,200,000 | Ardell | Chuck Hovey Yachts |
Click on the superyacht name above to read a full report of each sale.
The chart below shows sales by asking price from January to April 2009. As you can see, a very poor start to the year gave way to a sudden jump in sales to over €120 million in March followed by another leap to over €180 million in April.
Superyacht Sales by Month, January – April 2009
Superyacht Sales by Length, January – April 2009
The second chart above looks at the value of sales by length. This shows that the most popular second-hand boats, by units, were in the 30-40m range, with the value for the over-70m sector skewed by the 90m Hebridean Spirit, 77m Lone Ranger and 74m Silver sold.
The sale in March of the new 49.7m Casino Royale, by Ocean Independence, along with Silver are particularly significant indicating that larger and newer yachts are now finding new owners, as earlier this year it was mainly the smaller and older boats being sold.
And encouragingly, sales so far in May see that trend continuing, with the sale of the 39m ketch Victoria of Strathearn and yesterday’s announcement of the sale of Christensen’s 48.7m brand new Primadonna, launched as recently as January 2009. There are also several deals pending that we can’t tell you about yet but they do confirm the positive outlook.
Malcolm MacLean
Email: malcolm.maclean@boatinternational.com
Tel: +44 1294 551900
Note: Charts prepared using last known asking price.
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