Sales of pre-owned business jets increased by 11% through the first nine months of 2011, according to a monthly report recently published by JETNET LLC. The research company also said that average asking prices on business jets fell by 19.6% in the January-September period, more than erasing a modest uptick in prices reported just a month earlier.
“Pre-owned business jet asking prices are more in line than they were 18 months ago, but the current reversal in average asking price is a big concern for the seller,” JETNET said in the report.
Asking prices for turboprops and turbine-powered aircraft also fell by 12.9% and 13.8% in the nine-month 2011 period.
All business aircraft for sale in all sectors were taking an average of more than 330 days to sell. The average number of days on the market rose for all sectors except business turboprops in September. However, inventories also declined for all sectors in a positive sign for the market going forward.
The information suggests that while the pre-owned business aircraft market has improved substantially from the depths of the recession two years ago, it has yet to post a significant turn. “All indicators have been slow to recover in the first nine months of 2011,” JETNET said in the report.