Available Pre-owned Gulfstream G650 Inventory Dips

Gulfstream G650 (c/n 6064) N311CG, ex-N664GA rotates off Rwy 30 at Long Beach Airport (LGB/KLGB) on November 6, 2015.
(Photo by Michael Carter)

The available inventory of pre-owned Gulfstream G650s has dropped by more than 25 percent, according to the latest UBS Business Jet Update. The slide in G650s on the market comes as the overall available inventories of business jets stabilize, the report added.

The number of G650s/650ERs for sale has fallen from a peak of 18 to 13, UBS reported. The G650 inventory is equivalent to 7 percent of the installed base. Pricing for the models, however, also continues to decline, dropping another percentage point in August and is 19 percent below peak. This puts average pre-owned G650 prices about $10 million below that of new G650s.

The past increase in the number of the model on the market had raised concerns from analysts about the potential effect on new aircraft sales. But Phebe Novakovic, chairman of Gulfstream parent General Dynamics, had questioned some reports on the numbers and stressed investors shouldn’t panic over the inventory, saying in late July, “I’m comfortable that the pre-owned G650 market is appropriate and rational.” She also noted the company had not seen any G650 order cancellations as a result of the pre-owned inventory.

As for pricing, Hagerty Jet Group (HJG), in its recent market update, suggested that the softening may provide opportunity for G550 owners to upgrade. HJG, noting G650 sellers “are struggling to understand this quickly changing market,” added that the asking price at the end of June still appeared 5 to 10 percent higher than it should be.

The percentage of the young (10 years or less) Gulfstreams available for sale totals 8 percent (all in-production models), among the lowest in the industry. The available young Cessna Citation inventory is the smallest, at 7 percent, according to the UBS report.

Industry-wide, used business jets available for sale represented about 11.2 percent of the fleet in August, below the average of 13 percent. Inventories of aircraft five years or younger crept up 1 percent to 7 percent of the installed base in August, while inventories of aircraft between six and 10 years old dropped 2 percent to 10 percent of the installed base. However, inventories of that six-to-10-year range are still skirting near-historic highs, UBS said.

(Kerry Lynch - AINOnline News)