IADA: Preowned Business Aircraft Market Flourishes in Q1

The preowned business aircraft market continues to flourish with increased deals closing, faster time to close, and stabilizing pricing, according to the International Aircraft Dealers Association’s (IADA) first-quarter report. IADA said that the business aviation market remained “fundamentally strong” in the first three months, with both transactional data and industry perception. Demand continues to outpace supply, while expectations for the rest of the year remain upbeat, IADA added.

In the first three months, finalized transactions reached 333, versus 316 in the same period a year ago, continuing a five-year trend of incremental first-quarter increases, according to IADA. Acquisition agreements swung up from 134 in first-quarter 2025 to 167 this year, while dealer inventory purchases more than doubled from 29 to 65.

At the same time, aircraft under contract fell from 250 in first-quarter 2025 to 235 this year and exclusive sell agreements from 203 to 188—metrics “suggesting a modest normalization following elevated activity levels in 2025,” according to IADA.

Price reductions ebbed from 43 a year ago to 26, despite the fact that the number of deals falling apart increased to 49 from 37.

With a surge in fourth-quarter 2025 transactions, inventory in the most recent quarter remained tight, particularly of late-model aircraft with clean maintenance histories, IADA reported.

Also helping to fuel market strength are faster transaction times over the past six months, down from an average of 212 days to 150 days—29% less than the industry average. IADA noted that faster transactions save both the buyer and seller time and money, reduce uncertainty, and provide for smoother deals.

During IADA’s most recent market survey of its members, respondents viewed the market as resilient and disciplined, even with geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties. “The prevailing tone across respondents is one of measured confidence,” said John Odegard, IADA chair and 5x5 Trading cofounder and partner.

Pricing is expected to remain stable to slightly lower overall, but possibly modestly up for midsize and large-cabin models. Supply is anticipated to remain fairly stable, and demand is expected to remain high across all segments.

Respondents believe that the market will be stable or possibly improve during the rest of the year. They cited 100% bonus depreciation in the U.S. and lower interest, coupled with lengthy OEM backlogs, as boosting preowned demand. However, the ongoing geopolitical instability (particularly in the Middle East), tariff uncertainties, and MRO constraints all pose market risks.