Is now the right time to buy a superyacht? A market analysis for 2025

With geopolitical tensions boiling and macroeconomic uncertainty rife, is now actually a good time to invest in the most expensive purchase of your lifetime? 

Buying a superyacht isn’t the kind of decision you dive into (these are the type of sea-related puns you can learn to expect on C+C!). It goes without saying, then, that it is wise to learn the market forces at play in determining the prices of these crazy floating oases - and how supply, demand and the macroeconomic environment can change the price achieved when negotiating with other yacht owners or shipyards. 

As a Yacht Broker representing clients in the sale, purchase and charter of these lifestyle-changers, I have witnessed first-hand how the age-old adage of ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price’ rings true. In yacht broking, perhaps more than any other industry, negotiations can swing prices dramatically, sometimes saving or costing millions. Your first time onboard should be spent savouring the fruits of your negotiation, rather than sipping a negroni which tastes just a little too bitter after overpaying; because of this, basic strategy and advice from an expert is often essential.

In this post we are going to review the production of yachts over the past couple of years, check key stats on production & transaction volume, consider macro-economic factors, glance at the charter market and conclude with whether or not you should purchase a yacht this year (hint: the answer is yes).

To say the market is giving mixed signals right now would be a huge understatement – so, let’s break it down.

MARKET RECAP – what has been happening

Read any yacht market update in the last 4 years and they will mention the pandemic and the resulting boom in activity which stemmed from low interest rates and an extended period of psychological trauma (read: lockdowns). This cauldron of cheap money and trapped energy resulted in superyacht activity going through the roof. And naturally, in periods of high demand, high supply will follow.

Shipyards became fully booked with build slots (not the actual vessel) being bought and sold for big profits by savvy opportunists. This resulted in a knock-on effect for the brokerage market, with anything of any quality and some shiny stainless steel being snapped up instantly. Of course, a stock issue followed…

Many shipyards saw the stock issue as an opportunity to build yachts on speculation (before actually securing a contracted buyer) at maximum capacity. But sales and production weren’t the only thing on the rise: also rising were labour costs and inflation. We have seen a cataclysmic rise in new-build yacht prices over the last 4 years; with some products from premium shipyards increasing in cost by over 30% from pre-pandemic levels.

Where does that leave us now?

This trend of building on speculation is at its highest levels on record, according to the Superyacht Times there were 219 yachts currently (as of early 2025) for sale while in-build, up from 31 units in 2019! The number of speculative builds sold during 2024 was 74 - so this can be a smart move from a shipyard in demand.

Naturally after a massive influx of new-build yachts for sale, some go without being sold.  

While this is not ideal for a shipyard with a large balance sheet and huge labour costs, this is great news for an informed and inspired new yacht owner. Increased supply = increased leverage to negotiate on the price, and we have been seeing some fantastic deals transacted across a range of premium, northern European shipyards.

Also, with the rise in new-build costs increasing so dramatically, there is also an added hesitancy for current owners to upgrade their yachts in the usual 4-10 year cycles which have been prevalent in the past. Often, if they are willing to upgrade, the price they achieve for their now much older model is going to need to be above market value for the figures on the new-build to make sense – causing some disparity in expectations between seller and potential buyers.

Any upside?

But it is certainly not all doom-and-gloom in the new-build or second-hand games. At the time of writing (20th March 2025) The Italian Sea Group have announced record revenues, Lurssen have just announced the sale of a 120m+ project and Feadship seem to have something new coming out of the shed every week. The luxury industry bubble houses a tiny superyacht bubble that seems to have its own micro-economy where regular trends do not (always) apply – in our market, good products at the right price tend to sell – regardless of market constraints.

Brokerage too saw significant sales this first quarter of 2025, either buoyed by the arrival of Trump 2.0 and his pro-capitalism manifesto (before the market slammed the brakes) or perhaps simply just suiting specific client requirements, AALTO sold in January (last listing price of EUR 79.8m, ALFA G in Feb (EUR 46.8m asking) and NEW SECRET in March in an off-market deal.

Our industry is often described as a ‘0.01% market’, and the top 0.01% of that 0.01% usually remain completely unaffected by market movements; macro, micro, geopolitical or otherwise. A retired founder who has just sold $1bn of stock has little interest in a USA / Canada trade tariff war – and just simply wants a glass ocean-viewing room in his new Feadship. 

However, the majority of clients or potential owners within the space aren’t looking at the gigayacht factories, and instead want a solid production yacht with a low depreciation curve, solid aftercare and good charter potential – so these clients must take into account macroeconomic tectonic shifts such as the USD depreciating 5% against the EUR this year. A 5% currency price hike on an already inflated superyacht purchase price starts to get a bit eye watering – so these things must be accounted for, and planned around, wherever possible.

And the charter market?

Charter is, as it has been for the last four years, on fire – with most premium offerings (across a range of sizes, styles, locations and budgets) achieving consistent demand. An owner of a well-priced, well-marketed and well-crewed yacht can easily and conservatively budget for five weeks of Mediterranean charter in their operating cost projections, which offsets not only the interest rate increases over the past few years, but a lot of the actual running costs they accrue themselves. Some yachts of course are run as absolute charter machines and achieve a yearly profit – but more of that in a future post!

Since the turn of the year (at the time of writing 20th March) we have seen:

•⁠  ⁠1,000+ charters booked across the industry

•⁠  ⁠140 new yachts added to the charter market

•⁠  ⁠42 brand-new (2025) yachts now available

And in the context of location demand:

Top Destinations

            1.         🇬🇷 Greece – 34% of charters

            2.         🇫🇷 France – 29%

            3.         🇭🇷 Croatia – 18% stats provided by MYBA.

So what am I telling my clients right now?

Demand has waned from all-time highs but that isn’t anything to feel bearish about. Yachts are selling and shipyards are mostly very busy, however, speaking with a professional who understands which shipyards are MORE busy, or have certain stock they are keen to offload, is going to be key.

The market right now is patient rather than hesitant, and thus the need to become an educated client is imperative in ensuring you achieve a great price on a great product.

The true benefactors from a patient market are the potential buyers – where you have time to evaluate your needs, the brands available and the deals achievable. The yacht market is alive and will be thriving for some time, but even in this crazy bubble of luxury, there are some fantastic price differentials to benefit from.

Ultimately the decision to buy a superyacht is rarely a financial one. They are perhaps the very last thing one needs to purchase – however, they present one of the most life changing products and experiences possible to obtain. And, if you can change your lifestyle and achieve a good deal too – hey, happy days!

The Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Samuelson famously said ‘the stock market has forecast nine of the last five recessions’, so it is of course natural for the market to feel some sort of aftershock of big market movements – however yachting will always be a little resistant to market downturns just because of the sheer joy it brings friends and families. If nothing else, time onboard a superyacht with your loved ones can be a true saving grace as the world continues in its typical unpredictability and chaos.

So yes, 2025 is as good a time as any to get your foot in the yachting door. Providing you are smart about timing and informed about the market - partnering with someone within the space is usually essential to securing a great product at a good price.

Feel free to get in touch to discuss yachts or sign up to my newsletter to receive further thoughts and insights from someone within the industry. 

Josh