Market analyst Jefferies Equity Research added to the picture of a slowing used business jet aircraft market, noting that the number of aircraft for sale in July is up 16% year over year (YOY) and 12% over the past six months. Even with younger aircraft, inventories have increased 19% YOY but still represent only 3.7% of the total fleet.
The increased inventories cut across all categories, Jefferies added, with available midsize jets up by 21%, heavy by 18%, and light jets by 12%. At the same time, pricing is down 7% YOY.
The Jefferies findings, including data from Amstat and the firm’s own analysis, align with reports from Vref, which noted this week that the market has seen six consecutive quarters of reduced pricing and increased inventory, with aircraft staying on the market longer.
According to Jefferies, Bombardier units for sale are up 8%, to 65 units, representing 3.7% of the OEM’s fleet. Available Globals are up 19% YOY; however, Challengers for sale are down 17% and Learjet inventory fell by 20%.
Gulfstream inventories have increased 27% YOY, to 85 units, also accounting for 3.7% of the fleet. This includes 21 G650s for sale. Gulfstream said it has reserved 92 registrations thus far for the G700. Jefferies noted 92 models to be produced would imply 85 for customers.
Cessna Citations for sale are up 29% YOY, with 134 on the market. The CJ2/CJ2+ series is up by 20 units. Dassault's available inventory is up 47% YOY, although that’s off a low base of 25 units for sale.
Embraer is the outlier of the major business jet manufacturers with units for sale falling 17% YOY, to 34 units, led by Phenom 300 and Phenom 100 fleets for sale.
Pricing, meanwhile, is down across the board ranging from a 16% drop for Gulfstreams (with average asking prices of $21 million) to a 2% decline for Dassault models. Embraer models have seen a 10% dip in pricing; Bombardier pricing has decreased by 5% and Cessna Citations fell by 4%.