How quickly do short boats sell?

[Thomas C King]

I have searched for an answer to this question but have not found one, so any estimates are helpful. By a short boat, I mean 30' or less. The main reason is that me and my partner want to buy a short boat, we know that Viking 23s are apparently easy to sell. But we would rather have an "actual" short narrowboat to live on. If it is quick to sell, then that would provide us with more security should we suddenly need to move somewhere without a canal

 

I've also tried to get a sense of an answer from apolloduck, I'm currently watching some ads to see how long it takes before they are taken down, but I'm not sure if the website will notify me. Thanks in advance!

Edited May 27, 2018 by Thomas C King
typo

[MtB]

It depends wholly on the balance you strike between price, length and condition.

 

Price it low enough to suck in the many people only looking at fibreglass because they can't quite run to even the shortest steel NB, and you'll flog it in a flash. 

[Thomas C King]

Thanks Mike, hadn't thought about dropping the price. I can understand that it all depends on the variables. I can give some more specifics if that helps anyone to give an estimate. 

 

We do not want a project boat, so if we were to pay 15,000 for a 30' boat that is old (e.g., 1990s) but in good condition, are we talking a few months to sell, half a year? Then, if we were to drop its price to around 12k (i.e., in the unlikely event of an emergency), would it sell in around a month?

 

No problem if this is all too difficult to guess at.

[Athy]

In my experience, short Springers are always good sellers.

[Timx]

I would say your buying criteria is optimistic, but your selling criteria is pessimistic.

[Boater Sam]

3 minutes ago, Athy said:

In my experience, short Springers are always good sellers.

Aye, but by now selling as scrap/needing masses of repair. Midway boats from Barbridge Marina seem to sell well, many are short. 

[Nightwatch]

Our first boat was a 31' steel Narrowboat. We sold in a reasonably short time via Apolloduck. We were ambitious with the price and we sold for seven thousand pounds more than we bought.

 

we were lucky perhaps.

[MtB]

As a benchmark, Braunston Marina brokerage has an immaculate 30ft Springer on for (I think) £19,000 give or take a few bob. It's been hanging around several months now but they clearly aren't asking that much to waste their and everybody else's time. They think it will sell. 

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

As a benchmark, Braunston Marina brokerage has an immaculate 30ft Springer on for (I think) £19,000 give or take a few bob. It's been hanging around several months now but they clearly aren't asking that much to waste their and everybody else's time. They think it will sell. 

Or maybe that is what the owner thinks its worth, or is it a stock boat?

[MtB]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Or maybe that is what the owner thinks its worth, or is it a stock boat?

 

One can never tell what the deal is, but I can't imagine Posh Tim giving sales pontoon space up to a grossly overpriced boat he doesn't expect to sell in peak selling season.

[Neil2]

11 hours ago, Thomas C King said:

I have searched for an answer to this question but have not found one, so any estimates are helpful. By a short boat, I mean 30' or less. The main reason is that me and my partner want to buy a short boat, we know that Viking 23s are apparently easy to sell. But we would rather have an "actual" short narrowboat to live on. If it is quick to sell, then that would provide us with more security should we suddenly need to move somewhere without a canal

 

I've also tried to get a sense of an answer from apolloduck, I'm currently watching some ads to see how long it takes before they are taken down, but I'm not sure if the website will notify me. Thanks in advance!

I think the key thing here is to have a realistic view of what keeping a narrowboat in A1 condition requires.  If you buy a nice boat, even a short one, and really look after it you will likely get your money back when you sell.  But so many folk buy narrowboats and don't understand how much time and money goes into keeping on top of everything.  

 

The other consideration is that the market at the moment is very dry, brokers are struggling to find enough boats that's how come Braunston can ask £19k for an old Springer.  So it's a bad time to buy at the moment but we've been saying this for over a year now so it could get even worse.  

Edited May 28, 2018 by Neil2

[Alan de Enfield]

10 hours ago, Thomas C King said:

Thanks Mike, hadn't thought about dropping the price. I can understand that it all depends on the variables. I can give some more specifics if that helps anyone to give an estimate. 

 

We do not want a project boat, so if we were to pay 15,000 for a 30' boat that is old (e.g., 1990s) but in good condition, are we talking a few months to sell, half a year? Then, if we were to drop its price to around 12k (i.e., in the unlikely event of an emergency), would it sell in around a month?

 

No problem if this is all too difficult to guess at.

A while ago (before the current selling boom and ever increasing prices) I sold our 1983 30 ft steel NB, in fair, but dated condition, with almost new  (£1800) pram hood for £11,000.

 

I decide to sell privately and avoid paying any brokers fees, and instead, pass on the savings to the buyer.

I advertised it on this forum (Boats for sale section) just before Christmas and it was viewed, paid for and 'sold' before New year (in reality, pretty much within 2 days)

 

She went down to London as a liveaboard for a young couple just getting onto the 'property ladder'.

 

I doubt you will get a 'good condition' 199os boat for £15000 - but you may just strike lucky. 

If you see one, take the cash with you and pay for it on the day. Snooze and you loose !

 

 

[pete.i]

There is no short answer. There are too many variables. I had a short narrow boat, 30 foot. that sold very quickly but it's back on sale at the moment and has been for a few months now and hasn't sold. When I sold it it was gone within 3 weeks. My cruiser, a 4+2 Shetland didn't sell quite so quickly. That took a few months and I had to drop the price significantly.

[Bee]

Boats are not like cars, there is no 'Glasses guide' or anything like it to get a guide price and you can't look at similar houses in the same street to see what identical houses sold for. A tidy boat that looks nice and has no mad accessories added by owners will sell at the right price quite quickly. A boat owned by 'eccentric' owners full of daft stuff with a terrible paint job and no history of maintenance will hang around for ages until it becomes a 'project' boat.

[Thomas C King]

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. We will look into raising the budget a bit.

[Naughty Cal]

12 hours ago, Thomas C King said:

Thanks Mike, hadn't thought about dropping the price. I can understand that it all depends on the variables. I can give some more specifics if that helps anyone to give an estimate. 

 

We do not want a project boat, so if we were to pay 15,000 for a 30' boat that is old (e.g., 1990s) but in good condition, are we talking a few months to sell, half a year? Then, if we were to drop its price to around 12k (i.e., in the unlikely event of an emergency), would it sell in around a month?

 

No problem if this is all too difficult to guess at.

This has been for sale for a long time. Your  £15k may well buy it.

 

https://www.burtonwaters.co.uk/boat-for-sale/Eggbridge-Marina-Narrowboat-FOR-SALE-6146587.html

Edited May 28, 2018 by Naughty Cal

[Alan de Enfield]

27 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

This has been for sale for a long time. Your  £15k may well buy it.

 

https://www.burtonwaters.co.uk/boat-for-sale/Eggbridge-Marina-Narrowboat-FOR-SALE-6146587.html

But at 38 foot that boat is 30% longer than he is potentially looking for :

 

14 hours ago, Thomas C King said:

By a short boat, I mean 30' or less. The main reason is that me and my partner want to buy a short boat,

 

[cuthound]

8 hours ago, Neil2 said:

 So it's a bad time to buy at the moment but we've been saying this for over a year now so it could get even worse.  

 

It's been a bad time to buy since at least 2014 (when we bought our boat), and maybe earlier. But there are fewer sellers than buyers, this situation is likely to continue, particularly as relatively few new narrowboats are being built now compared to the 80's, 90's and even first half of the 2000's.

[RichM]

51 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

It's been a bad time to buy since at least 2014 (when we bought our boat), and maybe earlier. But there are fewer sellers than buyers, this situation is likely to continue, particularly as relatively few new narrowboats are being built now compared to the 80's, 90's and even first half of the 2000's.

I've heard this but I wonder why if demand is high?

[Neil2]

13 minutes ago, RichM said:

I've heard this but I wonder why if demand is high?

I recall a conversation I had with a shell builder last year.  He said he had stopped building shells speculatively as demand had fallen away, though he was still building to order.  Reading between the lines I think he was struggling to make a living as a shell builder but as he did boat safety inspections and gas safe work he was still making enough money.  

 

I think the market for shells and sailaways might just have come to its senses, there are now scores of part finished boats still in grey primer to prove it isn't a cheap way into boat ownership. 

 

And it may be that the pensions bonanza of a few years back has now run its course and there simply aren't enough old folks with lots of capital to keep the new boat sector going.  

 

This doesn't bode well for those who can only afford to buy secondhand but as I'm about to put my old boat up for sale, I'm secretly pleased...

[cuthound]

29 minutes ago, RichM said:

I've heard this but I wonder why if demand is high?

 

Because most Boatbuilders are concentrating on producing widebeams. Presumably there is more profit in them. 

[MtB]

6 hours ago, cuthound said:

But there are fewer sellers than buyers,

 

Point of Order M'lud.

 

The number of sellers always exactly matches the number of buyers, by definition if you think about it. 

 

I think you mean there are fewer boats offered for sale than buyers seeking to buy. 

[manxmike]

When we were looking for a new-build we visited several builders in the north west some of whom said they were only building wide beams as that's where the market was at the moment. When I asked where these wide beams were to be used they all said they were to be transported to the London area as live-aboards.

I also noticed that boats that failed every form of inspection known to mankind were being bought for pennies and transported to the London area as student accommodation.

I personally have no problem with the idea in general of living on the canals in London, but it seems to me that soon the London canal system will have so many boats that if there is a breach and the water runs away no-one will notice.

The market for second hand boats is most definitely a sellers market at the moment, boats are going for (imho) seriously silly prices. I hope that the market settles down eventually, builders will go back to building narrow beam boats because there is no more room in London and second hand boats will be realistically priced.

I would have loved to buy a shorter steel hull, but the price differential between steel and GRP was so silly it wasn't worth consideration. At least I'm still afloat!

[cuthound]

8 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Point of Order M'lud.

 

The number of sellers always exactly matches the number of buyers, by definition if you think about it. 

 

I think you mean there are fewer boats offered for sale than buyers seeking to buy. 

 

Very true.  Thanks for clarifying.

[Neil2]

10 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Point of Order M'lud.

 

The number of sellers always exactly matches the number of buyers, by definition if you think about it. 

 

I think you mean there are fewer boats offered for sale than buyers seeking to buy. 

No it doesn't.

 

What if a seller sells more than one boat or a buyer buys more than one boat?