It's time, I guess, to offer a wrap-up of the recent Miami Yacht & Brokerage Show from the viewpoint of the brokers involved.
"If you asked me what I thought of the show I would probably call it weird and wonderful," says Michael Joyce of Hargrave Custom Yachts. Michael goes on to say that Hargrave had one signed and accepted purchase offer completed during the show and is expecting two more offers to be accepted this week and had two requests for new construction proposals. "Considering every yacht broker I know well told me that they had multiple A-list clients who didn't make the show because of severe weather across the country, I think we did surprisingly well under the circumstances," Michael says.
Hein Velema at Fraser Yachts comments, "With four correctly-priced yachts on display, our listings generated a steady stream of interest. In fact, at the weekend we were literally inundated with interested, qualified buyers. We have one accepted offer and several serious enquiries so we're pretty optimistic even at this early stage. We also had clients hunting for distressed sales but since the market has begun to stabilise there are fewer and fewer available."
Other brokers I spoke to said that the show was a real disappointment but refused to go on the record with their comments.