IADA Q3 Data Shows Growing Market Optimism

The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) reported a sharp rise in market confidence and tighter preowned aircraft supply in its Third Quarter 2025 Market Report, citing renewed U.S. tax incentives and stable pricing as key factors driving dealer sentiment. Based on the association’s latest data, business aircraft sales momentum accelerated in the third quarter, setting up what members describe as potential for a strong finish in the last three months of 2025.

IADA’s general market optimism index rose to 3.47 in third-quarter 2025, up from 3.07 in the second quarter and 3.12 year over year, on a scale where 1 represents “worst ever” and 5 “best ever.” The report attributes this 13% increase in large part to the return of bonus depreciation, which respondents cited as a key driver of improved sentiment in sales, financing, and leasing.

“The re-implementation of bonus depreciation in the U.S. has generated significantly positive effects on business perceptions and operational planning,” said IADA executive director Louis Seno in the report. “Looking forward, IADA members project a strong market performance for the fourth quarter of 2025 and over the next six months.”

Inventory levels continued to tighten during the quarter, with the availability of newer, high-demand aircraft described as “extremely limited.” Buyers seeking specific models or vintages encountered a constrained market, while older aircraft requiring maintenance faced extended listing times and downward pricing pressure. IADA’s seller/buyer index fell to 3.16, its lowest in seven quarters, signaling a gradual shift in leverage toward sellers.

Despite tariff uncertainty and broader geopolitical concerns, IADA members reported sustained demand and efficient transaction flow. Dealers closed aircraft transactions in an average of 168 days, compared with the broader industry average of 211 days. 

Dealers recorded 357 completed transactions in the third quarter of 2025, compared with 377 during the same period in 2024, while 171 new acquisition agreements were signed, up 15% year over year. Activity through IADA’s proprietary AircraftExchange platform remained strong, with 2,060 leads reported generated in the first nine months of 2025, and 973 closed deals year-to-date, just 2% below the 2024 total for the same period. Almost 95% of IADA dealers participated in monthly activity reporting, providing a comprehensive picture of the preowned marketplace.

Pricing trends remained stable to slightly higher across most categories. According to IADA’s six-month outlook, 70% to 80% of respondents expect pricing to hold or increase modestly over the next six months, with the midsize and large-jet segments showing the most growth. More than 90% of members projected stable or rising demand for the coming half-year, lifting the six-month demand index to 3.65, up from 3.42 in the second quarter.

New aircraft backlogs and pricing are also contributing to stable values among in-production preowned aircraft, reinforcing a positive trend in those categories. Meanwhile, approximately three-quarters of respondents foresee stable to slightly lower aircraft availability, reversing the broader expectation of increased listings in the second quarter. Willingness among dealers to take aircraft into inventory doubled from second-quarter 2025, signaling growing confidence in future pricing and liquidity.

Member perspectives reflected in the release showed cautious optimism. John Odegard of 5x5 Trading stated that “with the uncertainty surrounding tariffs calming and bonus depreciation in place, the market has definitely received a boost.” James Norris of Omni Aircraft Sales noted that “transactions seemingly have picked up, and wanted ads are slinging left and right,” calling it a positive indicator as the year’s final quarter approaches.

While respondents acknowledged uncertainties, the report’s concluding section emphasized the market’s underlying health. It stated that optimism, the return of bonus depreciation, expectations of lower interest rates, and tightening supply point to an active closing environment in fourth-quarter 2025, with “stable to somewhat stronger pricing power for aircraft sellers…especially for pedigreed models with little to no availability.”

IADA said its accredited dealers continue to represent the majority of the global preowned turbine market, handling more than 50% of all preowned aircraft sales worldwide. The association highlighted that the combination of policy incentives, reduced time-to-close, and fewer collapsed deals, now at their lowest level since 2022, reflects a market “characterized by health and vitality,” as buyers respond to the reinstated bonus depreciation heading into the fourth quarter.

“The marketplace for preowned business aircraft exhibits many measures of health and vitality today,” the report concluded, citing stable pricing, strong demand, and active retail transaction volume as indicators of sustained resilience for the remainder of 2025.