The yacht brokerage industry continues to pull out of the recession with better than expected sales.
February 2010 sales were up 22% over the same time last year at 2561 boats. February 2009 had 1976 boat sales.
Among boats longer than 55 feet, U.S. yacht brokerage sales surged in February, the third month in a row that big-boat sales have out-performed the same month a year earlier. Paradise Yachts was in this group with the sale of a 58 Hatteras Long Range Cruiser.
Sailboat sales, after lagging behind the rise in powerboat sales in January, were up sharply in February, leading the market, with unit sales 41 percent higher (at 367 boats) and valuation up 77 percent (to $28 million).
All sizes of boats sold better in February than the same month a year earlier, with increases in unit sales of at least 29 percent. And while boats over 55 feet made the largest gains, strong sales were also recorded among boats 36 to 45 feet long, with 364 boats changing hands - 44 percent above February 2009.
The only negatives in February's report were that unit sales overall lagged slightly behind the five-year average for the month. Also, as a reflection of the slowness of the big-boat market throughout the recession, it's not surprising that the average time on the market for the boats over 55 feet sold this year so far is up about 40 percent, to 515 days.
