Hagerty Jet Group: Preowned Gulfstreams Are Hard To Find

With low to nonexistent available inventory, pricing for preowned Gulfstreams has firmed, and aircraft transactions are moving quickly, according to Savannah, Georgia-based aircraft broker Hagerty Jet Group.

Despite the war in Iran and soaring prices, “Don’t expect any serious discounts in the business jet markets just yet,” it said. Industry leaders offer mixed views on business aircraft activity levels, Hagerty reported, but most brokers say they have more buyers than sellers, particularly for current-production models.

“Following the record-breaking transactions in the fourth quarter, little inventory remains in any of the models we cover,” according to the broker, which was founded by a former longtime Gulfstream Aerospace sales specialist in 2015 and now has offices in Germany, Dallas, and Charlotte.

The company noted that no preowned Gulfstream G700s or G800s are for sale; in fact, there has only been one G700 transacted in the still relatively young history of the model. Hagerty estimated that pricing would be in the $90 million-plus range. Of the nearly 600 G650s built, only two are for sale, the company added. “We recently witnessed a 2017 G650ER come for sale with an ask price that was arguably $4 to $5 million above what similar airplanes sold for last year, and it went under contract within a few days of hitting the market, demonstrating the market is up 10%.”

The G550 available inventory has also tightened, going from about 45 on the market six months ago to 21 for sale now and 11 sales pending. “The G550 market has never been leaner with less than 2% of the fleet remaining for sale,” Hagerty maintained.

As for the G600, the available supply has not increased beyond three aircraft in more than a year, while prospective buyers must wait two years for a new model. A spike in available G500s was short-lived, with available inventory dropping from 5% of the fleet to 3%. The G450 and G280 fleets are the most available, with about 4% to 5% for sale. “But once you begin eliminating aircraft that are overpriced, the pickings are also slim,” Hagerty added.

Since the preowned business jet market typically follows the broader economy by six to nine months, Hagerty expects the industry to remain in a sellers’ market for the near future on most models.