State of the Dutch-built yachts sales market: 2024 semi-annual analysis

This report presents a comprehensive overview of the Dutch-built yacht market trends in the first half-year of 2023 compared to the first six months of 2024. Join us as we offer you invaluable knowledge on the market developments over the past year, including differences in sales, new listings, and price changes. Furthermore, if you wish to gain more profound insights into the market insights of Dutch-built yachts over 18 meters in 2023, don’t hesitate to look at Yachtsnl’s detailed Dutch-built yacht sales Report 2023

Yacht sales numbers 

When we compare the Dutch-built yacht market trends of the first half-year of 2023 to 2024, noteworthy insights come to light. A majority of the yacht sales numbers have decreased in the first six months of 2024 as opposed to 2023. Firstly, the number of sales has dropped from 66 to 45 between the first six months of 2023 and 2024. Additionally, the number of new listings declined in the first half-year of 2024 as opposed to the previous year, from 87 to 81. Contrarily, the number of price changes in the first six months was 138, which is significantly higher than the 110 price changes in the first six months of 2023. Therefore, it can be concluded that the first six months of 2024 overall exemplified slightly lower market activity compared to the first half-year of 2023. 

Total yachts offered for sale 

After obtaining insights into the difference in market trends over the first six months of this and last year, looking at the contrast in the total number of yachts offered for sale provides complementary knowledge. On average, there were 16% more yachts offered for sale in the first half of 2024 in contrast with 2023, with the average of 2023 being 284 and the average of 2024 being 330 Dutch-built yachts for sale. The largest difference in the number of yachts for sale was found in February and June, with differences of respectively 21% and 18%. 

Yacht sales

Considering the decrease in yacht sales between the first half-year of 2023 and 2024, it is interesting to take a closer look to the different variations in length and launch year of the sold yachts over these periods. Firstly, it is notable that in both periods approximately 80% of the sold yachts were motor yachts. This illustrates approximate consistency in the ratio between the number of sold motor and sailing yachts.  

With regard to the length of the sold yachts, it is remarkable that in both periods a majority of the yachts sold had a length between 18 and 24 meters. Additionally, the number of yachts sold with a length in either the range of 18-24 meters or 24-30 meters decreased significantly between the first half-year of 2023 and 2024, whilst yacht sales of a higher length remained approximately the same. 

Looking at the launch year of the yachts sold in the first half-year of 2023 and 2024, it is notable that a significant decrease in sales of yachts launched between 1970-1990, 2000-2010, and 2010-2024 was found. Apart from the 25% increase in sales of yachts launched between 1990 and 2000, in all launch year segments, the number of sales has decreased between the first half-year of 2023 and 2024. 

Another consequence of the drop in sales is that the total worth of yacht sales decreased by a significant 50.2% from € 962.314.578 in the first six months of 2023 to € 483.308.690 in 2024. 

In conclusion, the first half-year of 2024 showed a noticeable decline in market activity for Dutch-built yachts compared to the same period in 2023. The number of sales, new listings, and yachts withdrawn decreased. Just the total number of yachts offered for sale and the number of price changes increased, indicating a higher inventory available to buyers as well as a more dynamic pricing environment in 2024. Lastly, it is remarkable that the challenging market climate resulted in a decrease in sales value of 50.2% in the first half-year of 2024 as opposed to 2023, despite the sales domination of motor yachts in the 30-40 meter range or launched between 1990 and 2000. For a deeper dive into the trends and insights of the Dutch-built yacht market, refer to Yachtsnl’s comprehensive Dutch-built yacht sales Report 2023.