Boat Sales Are Up

[silverking]

From Soundings Trade Only Magazine:

From all over the country, we are now getting reports that a boat buying frenzy is playing out at many dealerships. From runabouts and center consoles to large express and flybridge cruisers and motoryachts, boats are selling at a fast pace, and many dealers are running out of inventory. Builders of large boats in the $1 to $2 million range report that nationwide inventory is often in single digits, and in some cases only a couple of boats are available for immediate delivery. One financial institution is saying its boat loan business is up 31%. BoatTEST has seen a huge spike in boat research on its website, something echoed by virtually all major online classified services.

Reprinted from Soundings Trade Only --
Marine dealer sentiment shot to their highest levels since 2018, with the outlook on current conditions measuring 76, versus 19 in April, according to a new survey.

The three- to five-year outlook also improved among 67 dealers who responded to the Pulse Report, a survey administered by Baird Equity Research in conjunction with the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and Trade Only Today.
“The ‘family’ has recognized due to the pandemic, vacation is out for this year,” wrote one dealer respondent. “No amusement parks, hotels, cruises, destinations closed, etcetera. So, let's look at boating!”

“We are finally seeing more new boaters and families,” wrote another.

Seventy percent reported retail growth in May, up from just 20 percent prior months, and the strongest recorded in the Pulse Report since July 2018, according to Baird.

Boating is a Sign of the Times
The pandemic has created “a surge in interest in socially-distanced outdoor activities, but the true impact on retail demand is hard to parse — even for those in the industry,” read the Pulse Report.

"I've never seen a buying frenzy like this,” wrote one retailer. “Is this a short-term bump or is it a long-term change in consumer habits?"

Used boat retail also altered noticeably, with 74 percent reporting growth, versus just 16 percent reporting a decline.

Used Boat Sales Picking Up, Too
Dealers reported increased consumer interest in listing their boats for sale and a stronger interest in late-model trade-in activity.
“Preowned is moving fast, and not just extremely clean product."

However, another remarked: "Deals getting tougher to do, as trade values are trending way above book value."

Used lean inventory and higher used boat prices support higher levels of new boat sales — a positive for OEMs.

“Our checks support anecdotal evidence that consumers are shifting their leisure time and dollars to socially-distanced outdoor activities,” said the report.

[Srbenda]

Kinda shocked, but keep hearing this anecdotally. I really expected this segment to get hammered from the economic hit.

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[Redbelly]

Should also see an uptick in boat ramp Follies......

[FishWithChris]

A friend of mine works at a dealer back in MS, and we were talking about this the other day. One thing to add to this is that folks are also entering this market as new owners partly due to the continued accessibility of boat loans over longer terms, whereas they were tougher to obtain just 18 months ago. Lenders are including 12 (or even 15) year terms for lower value <$40k boats that typically were reserved for higher value boats (think > $100k).

What I see coming is another housing type bubble in the next 3 - 4 years. It is going to pop, people will begin getting upside down in a boat that they can no longer afford to operate or pay their monthly notes on, etc...

I'm hoping that's not the case (from a financial impact perspective for those folks), but I'm also ok with not having Memorial Day weekend crowds at the coast every dad'gum weekend.

[Red Beard]

The housing market has been the same way. It hasn’t slowed down with everything going on. Our realtor said rates have stayed low and homes are selling fast.


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[FlyrodC]

Yeah, anecdotally I've heard bikes, campers, kayaks and now boats are selling like hotcakes. Glad I already have all of them covered.

[eightwt]

Portends a glut of used boats on the cheap at some point.

[silverking]

Portends a glut of used boats on the cheap at some point.

No boat is cheap.

[doomtrpr_z71]

Not surprising, you can't find a new side by side in south Georgia unless it's something off brand. Everybody bit me got a stimulus check and went YOLO.

[Unwound]

From Soundings Trade Only Magazine:

From all over the country, we are now getting reports that a boat buying frenzy is playing out at many dealerships. From runabouts and center consoles to large express and flybridge cruisers and motoryachts, boats are selling at a fast pace, and many dealers are running out of inventory. Builders of large boats in the $1 to $2 million range report that nationwide inventory is often in single digits, and in some cases only a couple of boats are available for immediate delivery. One financial institution is saying its boat loan business is up 31%. BoatTEST has seen a huge spike in boat research on its website, something echoed by virtually all major online classified services.

Reprinted from Soundings Trade Only --
Marine dealer sentiment shot to their highest levels since 2018, with the outlook on current conditions measuring 76, versus 19 in April, according to a new survey.

The three- to five-year outlook also improved among 67 dealers who responded to the Pulse Report, a survey administered by Baird Equity Research in conjunction with the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and Trade Only Today.
“The ‘family’ has recognized due to the pandemic, vacation is out for this year,” wrote one dealer respondent. “No amusement parks, hotels, cruises, destinations closed, etcetera. So, let's look at boating!”

“We are finally seeing more new boaters and families,” wrote another.

Seventy percent reported retail growth in May, up from just 20 percent prior months, and the strongest recorded in the Pulse Report since July 2018, according to Baird.

Boating is a Sign of the Times
The pandemic has created “a surge in interest in socially-distanced outdoor activities, but the true impact on retail demand is hard to parse — even for those in the industry,” read the Pulse Report.

"I've never seen a buying frenzy like this,” wrote one retailer. “Is this a short-term bump or is it a long-term change in consumer habits?"

Used boat retail also altered noticeably, with 74 percent reporting growth, versus just 16 percent reporting a decline.

Used Boat Sales Picking Up, Too
Dealers reported increased consumer interest in listing their boats for sale and a stronger interest in late-model trade-in activity.
“Preowned is moving fast, and not just extremely clean product."

However, another remarked: "Deals getting tougher to do, as trade values are trending way above book value."

Used lean inventory and higher used boat prices support higher levels of new boat sales — a positive for OEMs.

“Our checks support anecdotal evidence that consumers are shifting their leisure time and dollars to socially-distanced outdoor activities,” said the report.

I've heard the same thing about new boat sales in the under $1 million range. I was talking to a dealer and he was telling me how busy he was. I don't have any info on the used market. That was two weeks ago. I couldn't believe, but I've decided that I don't know what the heck is going on. Massive amounts of people out of work, stock market is surging, home prices are even going up, and then I talked to the boat dealer. I have no idea what's going on, so I guess that's a good think.