MARKET REPORT Looking for Sellers

A balanced aircraft market should see around 10 percent of the fleet for sale at any one time, and good airplanes that are priced well should be advertised for a few months. This is not a balanced market.

At the time of this writing, 13 Twin Commanders were available for sale in the United States, and an additional two were advertised outside North America. And many of those were under contract and would be coming off the market soon. It’s among the lowest inventories Eagle Creek Aviation’s Jim Worrell has ever seen. “This is very much a seller’s market,” he said.

Although it’s true that even in a down market an airplane with good engines and avionics is always going to move, that airplane would still be advertised for at least a few months. “Now it trades before it hits the newspaper,” according to Bruce Byerly of Byerly Aviation and the Naples Jet Center. Byerly said that today’s buyer needs “money in the bank ready to go and to give me a few months to come up with something.”

The reasons for the strong market are numerous, but access to cheap money is a key reason, and the lack of open shop time and lead times on avionics units aren’t helping. Buying a project airplane is possible, but given the challenges facing the avionics market, a new owner will be waiting a few months until he or she can get the airplane in the shop to start the upgrades. As a result, the market for an airplane that’s clean, no excuses, ready to go is really hot, Byerly said.

Things are looking like more of the same for the fourth quarter as well. In fact, Worrell is predicting even more activity as clients scramble to do something to impact their tax bills by the end of the year, and firefighting companies look to continue building out their fleets. “The fourth quarter is going to be insane,” he said.

Both Byerly and Worrell said the market is as strong as they can remember it, and that it’s a great time to be a seller. There’s an obvious hesitancy to sell, given the challenges of finding a replacement, but that’s what a good broker is for.