In the current business aircraft seller’s market, the asking price for large cabin preowned jets has seen a 7 percent increase in the second quarter year-over-year, as newer, high-quality assets are trading at or near the ask price. (Photo: Mark Wagner/AIN)
The used aircraft market continues to boil, with twice as many preowned business aircraft transactions occurring in the second quarter of 2021 as in the same period in 2020, according to industry pricing evaluator Asset Insight. The Las Vegas-based company also noted that the market experienced a 30 percent jump in volume from the first to the second quarter of this year.
That activity was coupled with a 2.2 percent increase in asking prices across the entire available fleet, led by large-cabin jets, which posted a 7 percent rise. Asking prices for the turboprop segment increased 3.2 percent quarter-to-quarter and 8.3 percent from a year ago.
“Viewed from any angle, the preowned business aircraft market is white-hot,” said Asset Insight president Tony Kioussis. “As sellers bring additional aircraft to the marketplace, newer, higher-quality assets are snapped up by eager buyers at values very close to their ask price.”
On the other side of the scale are the aged aircraft, whose maintenance exposure in many cases far outweighs their asking prices. They continue to be a drag on the average “days on market” statistic, which increased by more than 5 percent in the second quarter of this year. While activity in the midsize and light-jet markets remains strong, those aircraft—which in some cases are several decades old—are also serving to skew the average asking prices in those categories, as their owners continually lower their sights in an attempt to attract some interest. In the light-jet category, the average asking price dropped by more than 17 percent year-over-year.
“It is possible that many of those older aircraft are on their final owner and may not sell,” added Kioussis. “However, we are seeing engaged sellers quickly matched with eager buyers for the bulk of the for-sale fleet, and there is no indication that this pace will slow any time soon.”
