Larger boats continued to be the strength of the U.S. yacht brokerage market as 2010 ended with mixed results, according to YachtWorld.com member brokers reporting sales in their proprietary database, Soldboats.com.

December is normally the lowest volume month for sales in the U.S., and this year was no exception. Unit sales of 1597 boats sold were 18 percent lower than in November, and 6 percent lower than December 2009. However, unit sales of boats over 55 feet increased 5 percent compared to the previous December, and total sales valuations were higher than a year ago in all size ranges of boats over 36 feet. The total valuation of all boats sold in December was $246 million, up 2 percent from December 2009.

Overall, 2010 sales numbers improved over 2009, but fewer sales of smaller and mid-sized boats in the second half of the year resulted in only modest gains for the year overall. Some 29,494 boats changed hands, up 8 percent from the 27,195 boats sold in 2009. Total sales valuation for the year increased approximately $500 million, to $3.2 billion, a gain of 19 percent over 2009.

Powerboat sales dropped 3 percent in December, to 1233 boats. Sailboat sales were down 17 percent, to 364 boats, which continued a run of months of decreased sales compared to 2009. At the end of the summer, unit sales for powerboats and sailboats were on par, on a percentage basis, both about 14 percent above 2009 for the first eight months. After 12 months, however, only 5 percent more sailboats had been sold in 2010 than 2009, while power had slipped to 9 percent.