With a much lower gain than that of previous recent years, the Classic Auto Auction world seems to have hit a wall, and it will not be able to climb it for a while.
For example, the prestigious Auctions held on the Monterey Peninsula last week were down a total of $20 million from their high of 2014.
From all angles, we get the same advice: The market is stabilizing and the value of unsold inventory has doubled that of 2013. Perhaps, now we can deduct, in hindsight, that 2013 was the peak for this specific market. In fact, Blue Chip items such as automobiles from the 50’s to the 70’s seem to not gather much interest as they once did.
The hectic and unsustainable explosive growth in the market has come to an end, indeed. And perhaps this is a positive swing, since unsustainable growth in any market, no matter which, is truly a counter-productive situation. Otherwise, we might have to survive another Collector Car Market implosion like the one which happened back in 1991.
Has the upcoming Administration change had an impact in this “stabilization”? Or has it been the China shake-up of its economy? Or perhaps the currency decrease in value of the Euro… or even the prospective interest rates hike? We most probably will never know for sure; however, we can be sure now, it is happening. And it is happening in all markets, in all areas and in all spheres.
What else can we extrapolate from this specific market slice? Well, in general, people are taking their time when it comes to purchasing high-value items, either for leisure or for necessity. If a new car becomes too much of a burden in the projected personal budget for the next five to 7 years, then, the Used Automobile and Re-sale Auto Market is thus in the perfect situation to be at.
When an individual needs to “measure and weigh” his/her expenses, even on necessary items, a solid, good quality item, even if used becomes the best alternative because it is a sound one.
Therefore, the Used Auto Market is right now primed for another wave of increased sales and it is only a matter of setting itself in the right position in order to catch the perfect wave.
