June proved to be a record month so far this year in terms of the asking prices of yachts sold, with fourteen yachts reported sold at total asking prices breaking the €200 million barrier for the first time in 2009. Last month I commented that May was a month with two parts as the larger, newer yachts were sold in the first two weeks, followed by a fortnight which saw the sale of smaller, older boats.
The month of June proved to be a mirror image of May, as the majority of sales – including Feadship’s 86m Ecstasea – were reported after June 15. Cumulatively, the first six months of 2009 saw 62 power and eleven sailing yachts sold at asking prices totalling more than €700 million.
However, we also have to bear in mind that some significant yachts change hands very discreetly and will not be reflected in these figures. And conversely, when looking at the data presented below it’s worth bearing in mind that some yachts are reportedly selling at up to 30% below the asking price.
| Name | Length | Builder | Asking Price | Listing Broker | Buyer Broker |
| 4 Friends | 24.4m | Mangusta | €1,895,000 | Ocean Independence | The Yacht Corporation |
| Aurora | 25.50m | Moonen | €3,950,000 | Moonen Brokerage | |
| Ecstasea | 86m | Feadship | $150,000,000 | Merle Wood & Associates | Merle Wood & Associates |
| Fortuny | 24.80m | Barcos Deportivos | €3,900,000 | Dahm International | Dahm International |
| High Tide II | 33.55m | Broward Marine | $2,900,000 | RJC Yachts | The Marine Group |
| Macalulu | 43.00m | Baglietto | €19,000,000 | Yachting Partners International | CSO Yachts |
| Mangusta 165 | 49.90m | Overmarine | €26,000,000 | Withheld | Withheld |
| Morgan Star | 36.90m | Heesen | $5,350,000 | The Sacks Group | Luxury Yacht Group |
| My Fair Lady | 28.04m | Cheoy Lee | $1,100,000 | Merle Wood & Associates | The Sacks Group |
| Red Sula | 32.50m | Jongert | Withheld | Dahm International | Dahm International |
| Saint James | 43.40m | Custom | $3,500,000 | Killian Yacht & Ship Brokers | Killian Yacht & Ship Brokers |
| Seascape | 37.00m | Heesen | $12,500,000 | Camper & Nicholsons International | Camper & Nicholsons International |
| Tradition | 36.64m | Feadship | $5,600,000 | Fraser Yachts | Allied Marine |
| Yianis | 40m | Mangusta | Withheld | Blue Water Yachting | Merle Wood & Associates |
The first chart below looks at the value of sales by asking price for the first six months of 2009 and, while the number of yachts sold in June was less than in any of the previous three months, the overall value has rocketed. We could put this down to the ‘Ecstasea effect’ as her sale was the most significant so far this year.
Superyacht Sales by Month, January – June 2009
Superyacht Sales by Length, January-June 2009
The second chart above examines the value of sales by length and once again the most popular boats in unit terms were in the 30-40m size range, although their overall sales value has finally been outstripped by yachts of 40-50m.
We asked Jonathan Beckett, CEO of Burgess for his view on the current market and he comments, “Supply is greater than demand and therefore yachts that are the most competitively priced are the ones that are selling. The good news is that there is still a market and once the credit crunch has ‘bottomed out’ more buyers will emerge. Even now, not all is doom and gloom and sales activity has picked up considerably in the last few weeks.”
Malcolm MacLean
Email: malcolm.maclean@boatinternational.com
Tel: +44 1294 551900
Note: The above charts were prepared using the last known asking price
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