![Dassault Falcon 7X Dassault Falcon 7X](https://bjtonline.com/sites/bjtonline.com/files/styles/bjt30_article_large/public/004_falcon7x_2012dvd39_web.jpg?itok=qdiCxP0M×tamp=1482728881)
Signs of Life
Reduced inventories of several models suggest that, after years of weakness, the used-jet market is finally turning around.
Though it’s too soon to start celebrating, we’re seeing more and more signs of a turnaround in the market for used jets.
Supply of Bombardier’s Challenger 604, meanwhile, reached an all-time high at the end of 2012—but then buyers detected value and assaulted this segment with cold, hard cash, driving availability down to levels not visited in a couple of years. Buyers’ acute sense of value can tighten up a market over a couple of quarters, which is what has occurred here. While the Challenger 604 market remains supply-heavy, inventory seems likely to continue shrinking this fall, with levels stabilizing by the end of the year. Lending support to this thesis are the “sale pending” notices that accompany nearly 10 percent of the model’s current for-sale listings, plus a comparatively low supply of the successor model 605s for sale.
Another large-cabin jet, the Falcon 7X, seems to have arrived at its trigger point, with most of the pricing in the sub-$40 million area. The aircraft has been selling at a rate of roughly one per month over the last six months, double the rate of the previous six months, bringing the number of choices below the 12-month moving average. n
Bryan Comstock welcomes comments and suggestions at bcomstock@bjtonline.com.