Like watching a movie that is unbelievable, this preowned aircraft market of ours at times now seems just that—surreal or unbelievable. In what seems like a matter of weeks it has shifted dramatically with respect to available inventory. We went from days of oversupply and what felt like a freefall of residual values, to one of tight supply and near impossibility of finding the airplane that checks all of the boxes; at least for buyers in North America. The e-blast dialog from brokers and dealers has changed from “Must sell” or “Drastic Reduction in Price” to “WANTED!”
Don’t get me wrong on two very distinct fronts. There are still aircraft brokers who are reducing their prices and claiming they want to be next to sell, based on a motivated seller. But if you look at those individual sellers, what you will quickly see is a history of their airplanes being overpriced for sometimes years and in some cases still above market. They are the ones going down in their asking prices. Then you see those smart sellers who realize as they come on the market that there is still a sense of reasonableness involved in selling. One must be sensible and methodical about setting a price, even in an aggressive marketplace.
Jay Mesinger is the CEO and Founder of Mesinger Jet Sales, an international aircraft brokerage firm, and has been regularly contributing to AIN since 2018.
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