Inside the shift: pricing, demand, and buyer behaviour in 2025

In the wake of the spikes in ownership and sales following lockdown, there was always going to be a re-balance between sellers, buyers and prices. But what is the reality of today’s yacht market, is there still a positive buyer culture and are prices really falling as the statistics suggest? We go behind the data and talk to Dominic Millman, Partner and Senior Broker in the London office.

There’s a lot of talk around market correction

I don’t like the term ‘market correction’, it implies we were heading one way and now another. What we are seeing is a natural adjustment from a period of extreme demand following lockdown to numbers that more reflect the sales market before 2020. I would say we are now coming out the other side. 

Talk us through the period following lockdown 

There was a huge surge in demand, with spikes across the brokerage market and then with new build numbers and then prices. This period reframed lives, and it reframed the market. For a time.

Back then, you couldn’t buy a paddleboard, prices rose through demand and then through speculation as owners, who were not intending to sell, came to market to see what they could get. By Q3 2024 I think we saw the surge decline but it takes time for people and the market to adjust. 

But prices are lower?

The big difference with pricing is that these are now sellers ready to sell, not speculating. Owners who didn’t catch that sales wave were understandably frustrated. They are now bending on the asking price, plus we have a good flow of brokerage yachts coming through in ‘24 and ‘25. So choice is good for buyers.

These buyers are also far more circumspect. They know the market is different and availability is increasing so they are playing a harder game. 

Is it a buyers’ market?

As the seller, you can control three things: the condition of your yacht, its location, and the commercial narrative such as price and who you employ to sell it. You can’t control the market, that’s led by the buyer and they will always cherry-pick the best yachts.

What about buyer culture?

One thing we are seeing is a more age-conscious buyer. Of course, you are always going to see people coveting older vessels from the Dutch and German yards, but many are looking for newer vessels with a very specific list of features.

Where once it was about running costs and pure value, we are now seeing a more binary approach, high-wealth clients having what they want. Spectacular pools, beach clubs, private decks, these are all high on buyers’ lists and they are prepared to move quickly to get them. This would usually feed into a new build conversation, but new build costs mean two or three year old brokerage boats are very much in the frame.

The interesting point here is that where an older boat’s price is usually based on its peers, a new boat is more tied to new build prices, so might we see stronger valuations and sales for these boats? It seems possible.