At the recent London Boat Show, YachtWorld.com released its first Market Report for Europe, showing sales activity in the European brokerage market during 2010. It is intended that we will release a report every quarter, focusing on specific areas of the market and important trends. To get yourself on the distribution of this Market Report, please send your email address to [email protected].

Here is an excerpt from our first report:

Based on sales reported by YachtWorld.com’s members in the first nine months of 2010, brokerage boats in Europe held their value despite a 10% drop in the number of boats sold. While smaller boats sold at lower average valuation, boats over 10.5 metres sold for higher prices. Analysis of these statistics leads us to observe that:

• Pent-up demand for larger boats remains, and luxury buyers still have the funds to act on it
• For those spending the most in the market, we’re seeing a move towards normal valuations, making this a potentially safer time to buy and sell
• Among smaller boats, quality models at value prices are readily available
• Sales and sale prices in the UK lagged behind the rest of Europe for the first half of 2010, but moved ahead in Q3
• Used powerboats prices were hardest hit later in the year, whilst those for sailboats improved.

We therefore believe:

• Although sailboats may not drive a recovery in unit sales for the broader market sometime soon, they are holding their value better than powerboats
• Those shopping for powerboats can expect more aggressive pricing in the coming months
• The UK market, which features a more balanced mix of power and sailboat sales, may lead the rest of the EU going into 2011

Download the full report from here  http://goo.gl/ye9Bl