While the pre-owned business jet sales market continued its rebound last year, with an improvement of 5.7 percent compared with 2013, that rate of growth was off the pace set in recent years, according to industry data provider Amstat in its latest resale report, released on January 28. “This growth was below the year-on-year growth of 8.8 percent in 2013 over 2012 and 6.3 percent in 2012 over 2011,” noted company general manager Andrew Young. “In general, 2014 was a good year for business jets, but less so for other segments of the Ò[turbine] market.”
Last year, 10.8 percent of the total fleet changed hands, compared with 10.4 percent in 2013. The transaction rates for both medium jets and heavy jets were up year-over-year at 16.4 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, while light jet transactions were down 1 percent and turboprop sales rates declined 12.2 percent from their 2013 totals. Overall, according to the New Jersey-based company, business-aircraft inventories either remained flat or continued to contract last year.
At the beginning of 2015, Amstat saw the average asking price for large-cabin jets increase by 2.2 percent compared with the third quarter of 2014, and 8.3 percent compared with the same period last year, while the midsize and light jet segments saw a fall in asking prices of 4.1 percent and nearly 5 percent, respectively, compared with the same period last year.
Though the current turboprop inventory remains around 7.6 percent of the fleet, a decrease from the 20-year average of 10.9 percent, Amstat found asking prices declined by 4 percent from a year ago. Turbine helicopter resale activity also declined 9.5 percent compared with 2013.