Pricing Case Study: Catamarans and the 2025 Market Dynamics

1. Background

Back during Covid, catamarans became the poster child of yacht ownership. Demand surged as people looked for freedom on the water, while supply was restricted by closed or scaled-back boatyards. Dealers capitalised, inflating list prices. Buyers, many of them first-time owners, routinely paid between $1 million and $1.5 million for mid-sized models such as the Lagoon 46 and Leopard 50, depending on options.

Today, just a few years later, the picture has reversed. The same boats are returning to the second-hand market, competing against each other and against entire ex-charter fleets being phased out after five to seven years of service. Oversupply, reduced demand, and factory discounting have combined to cut resale values by half within a single ownership cycle.

2. Covid-Era Price Inflation

Inexperienced buyers: Many were first-time owners who underestimated running costs and overestimated resale stability.

Dealer margins: On some models, dealers increased margins by as much as $400,000 USD.

Charter promises: Buyers were often told that charter income would cover or offset ownership costs, creating unrealistic financial expectations.

3. Current Market Reality

A 2020 Lagoon 46 originally sold for around $1.2 million now achieves $450,000–$500,000.

Ex-charter boats suffer from the hire-car effect: they may be sound, but buyers assume hard use and apply heavy discounts.

Sellers browsing portals like YachtWorld see similar boats advertised at $700,000–$800,000 and expect the same. In reality, those are the unsold examples. Well-priced boats sell quickly and disappear from view.

4. The Double Hit for Owners

Owners face two compounding issues:

Depreciation: A catamaran that started life at $1m–$1.5m typically loses half its value within five to six years.

Expectation vs reality: Boatshed’s analysis of 30,000 sales shows owners reduce their asking prices by 28–30% on average before closing a deal. This reflects the gap between expectation and outcome, not the total depreciation curve.

Underuse:Many post-Covid buyers barely used their boats, making the loss feel like wasted money, often with few of the cool lifestyle returns that were initially imagined at purchase.

5. Why Dealers Inflate Resale Prices

Dealers rarely tell owners the truth about depreciation because it conflicts with their incentives.

Lead generation: Inflated resale listings act as bait. Owners are told their boat can be marketed high, but the real goal is to generate enquiries. Buyers are then steered into discounted new builds, where margins are far higher. This cycle is the treadmill of the new-boat trade.

Brand protection: Publishing achieved resale values would damage brand image. If buyers knew a five-year-old catamaran is worth half its original cost, new sales would suffer.

Margin economics: Dealers can earn hundreds of thousands on a new boat versus a fraction of that on a resale commission. Their business model depends on keeping focus on new orders.

Control of market data: Owners rely on portals that show only asking prices. Without achieved-sale data, sellers cling to inflated figures, buyers misjudge value, and dealers retain control of the narrative.

6. Supply, Demand, and Factory Pressure

Oversupply: Private sellers and whole charter fleets are flooding the market at the same time.

Weak demand: Economic tightening has reduced the pool of serious buyers.

Factory dynamics: Yards are built for volume. To keep moving stock, they now discount heavily on new boats which drags second-hand values down further.

Dealer tactics: A used Lagoon 42 from 2020 may be listed at $700,000, not to sell it, but to bounce buyers into a new discounted build instead.

7. Strategic Takeaways

For Brokers: Use achieved-sale data, not portal adverts, to anchor conversations with owners. Transparency builds trust and closes deals.

For Sellers: Boats are luxury consumables, not appreciating assets. Upgrades often create phantom equity — valuable for your use and enjoyment, but rarely adding to resale value. Recognise this and price realistically from the outset.

For Buyers: The best opportunities lie in well-maintained private boats priced fairly to market. Ex-charter examples can be viable purchases, but only when the discount genuinely offsets wear and tear.

8. Conclusion

The catamaran sector is undergoing a structural correction. Post Covid-era buyers who paid peak prices are now facing losses of 50% or more within a single cycle. Dealers and manufacturers obscure this reality because their profits depend on new-boat margins, not second-hand transparency.

The lesson is blunt but necessary: yachts are for lifestyle, freedom, and enjoyment — not for capital gain. Recognise depreciation for what it is, act early, and ownership becomes far more rewarding.