Preowned single-engine helicopter prices have held strong despite retail sales dropping to the lowest level in three years, according to Toronto-based Aero Asset's Heli Market Trends 2023 Single-engine Report.
Compared to 2022, retail sales volume was 50 percent lower than 2023, the report notes, and the supply of single-engine helicopters for sale was 30 percent higher. However, average asking price grew by 4 percent and transaction price climbed 13 percent year-over-year (YOY), the helicopter broker and market intelligence company Aero Asset said. "Absorption rate deteriorated through 2023 but ended the year at a reasonable one year of supply at current trade levels.”
Bell’s 407 series was the most active or liquid market in 2023, and the least liquid was the Airbus EC130B4/H130. The Airbus AStar AS350B3 and -B3e/H125 followed the Bell 407, then the Leonardo AW119 series.
In terms of regions, North America ranked highest at 62 percent of 2023 transactions, Latin America 14 percent, Asia-Pacific 12 percent, and Europe at 9 percent (but had dropped 70 percent YOY), according to Aero Asset. At the same time, Europe had the highest share of supply for sale at 36 percent, then North America at 22 percent, and Asia-Pacific and Latin America at 17 percent each, with the rest of the world at 8 percent.