Report Predicts Price Decline for Higher-end Bizjets

The preowned business aircraft market continued to stabilize in 2023, according to a year-end report recently released by the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA).

“IADA members have been predicting a more stable marketplace for over a year, and the 2023 market performed as expected,” said Phil Winters, the group’s chairman and vice president of aircraft sales and charter management with Western Aircraft. “Our quantitative and proprietary sales data shows that buyers and sellers are coming together with regard to asking and offering prices, a positive change from the overheated conditions we’ve seen since the onset of the pandemic.”

The report melds qualitative perspectives from IADA members around the globe with quantitative sales data from its accredited dealers and certified brokers who handle 50 percent of used business aircraft transactions. It noted a subtle shift toward a buyer’s market with “higher inventory and more reasonable prices, leading to expectations for a steady start to 2024.”

A survey of members indicated that the majority of IADA members expect that midsize and large-jet pricing will decrease and that inventory in those classes will continue to rise over the first half of the year, with the top-of-the-market ultra-long-range and large-cabin category seeing the most notable changes.

About 85 percent of the respondents indicated that demand across the entire business aircraft spectrum will likely see relative stability or a slight decline.

"As forecasted, the lack of a robust fourth quarter is allowing inventories to rise," said David Monacell, executive v-p at CFS Jets. "While I am not expecting a precipitous drop in pricing, I do expect an increased pace of asset depreciation as the industry gives back some of the gains from recent years."

The report added that, due to lingering parts shortages and lack of pre-buy inspection slots, some transactions are still seeing delays, which IADA noted could affect first-quarter transactions. Projects for the first half of the year could also be roiled by geopolitical unrest and, particularly in the U.S., election-year uncertainty.