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RV prices are going up!

I noticed this too! I hope they are getting those prices. When I started construction the prices were near or north of $100K for an -8. Of course, right as I finished the prices bottomed out...story of my life :)
 
I always thought it interesting that people are reluctant to reveal how much they sold (or bought) RVs for, which makes it incredibly difficult to get a decent picture of an RVs true value.

My guess is not many RVs -- 'cept maybe 10s and a few show planes -- are going for >100k.
 
A friend of mine has bought and sold 4 RV's this year, all of them for substantially less than the asking price. Deal is, he has the money in his pocket, makes an offer, low, for sure but 4 airplanes? All but the last one were re-sold at a big profit! The last one was ferried from Nevada to Georgia by an A&P/IA friend of mine, after a prebuy went well out there.

There's more to this business of buying and selling than meets the eye!

Best,
 
Its been a long haul but i think things are slowly improving economicly so i guess we can expect to see a slight increase in plane pricess as people have a little more dispoasable cash ???
 
As an aircraft broker,.....

As an aircraft broker, I can tell you that, in the past couple years, only the finest RV-7As (and of course, 10s) have sold for over $100k. And not much over. These have been glass panel, low time, 200hp, beautiful paint, masterfully built, etc. Most of these have been sold to overseas buyers who are willing to pay a premium for the finest examples of RVs. The average, well built, well maintained RV 6s, 7s, 9s have been selling between $60k and $85k.

Of course, these are only the planes I've dealt with, either assisting in the sale or shipping overseas. There have probably been countless planes sold recently that don't fall into this bracket. :)
 
Investment vs. Fun Factor

If you are looking for a good investment buy a brownstone in Manhattan. The population of pilots looking to buy a used airplane is dwindling. The percentage of those looking for an experimental is small. Build it or buy it to meet your wants. If you come out whole when you want out, great. If not, oh well.
When I started flying years ago my friend told me this, " Know how to make a small fortune in aviation? Start with a large fortune." He was right but I have not met better people or had more fun doing anything in my whole life.
 
RE: Counter Offer and elastics

We all know and it is self evident that the Seller wants the highest price possible in the transaction while the buyer wants to make the proverbial killer low price deal. As part of this process is the elasticity of the seller and buyer. Now, the only way to determine this is the offer .... Counter offer .... Offer ..... you get the idea. It works not only on big ticket stuff but at the old garage sale.

As some may know I have my plane N74BZ up for sale. I have gotten many many inquiries but as of yet no offers. One of the inquiries was an individual that was really intent on buying an RV that my poor skills of setting up a date to see the plane sent them to buy another RV. So my lack of elasticity caused a potential sale to evaporate during the first week I had the plane up for sale.

My point is what is the intent of the seller/buyer, elasticity of the seller/buyer, and what is the offer/counter offer process. In simple terms putting a committed seller with a committed buyer, each being flexiable, and willing to seek a fair market price through negotiations a win win deal can be made.

In my case I know how much MONEY it took to build my RV7A, and I know what the relative market is now, and I know WHAT I THINK the value of my plane is.......the big questions is what value a committed RV buyer is willing to pay for my plane. If our two values are close after the give and take of negotiations a win win deal will probably be found. If not then nothing lost other than a little time, some emotional energy expended, and each that much closer to their goal of selling or buying the greatest plane in the market place.
 
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Perspective

Just in the past year I have sold one RV to Dale Walter, a member here then turned right around and bought David Domeier's -7a. Both transactions were more than painless and have also made two new RV friends in the process. In Dale's case he was under a time constraint so did not get to spend a lot of time together as he had a long flight back to FL. He was gracious enough to send me pix of the trip, including landings (Leadville) along the way... Since then he has done many upgrades, GRTHX, A/P, Lites, and has sent pix along the way. Most recently he was at Reno, so looking forward to those pix as well.

David and I got to spend a couple days together doing local stuff, a hilite of which was a visit to the Spruce Goose and Evergreen Museum. David was thrilled to sit in the actual PIC seat formerly occupied on it's one and only flight by his former boss, Howard Hughes. Talk about grinning ear to ear...
Many of you are watching David's RV-8 Build process right here.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=81476

I guess my point is, it sure does help if both sides are RV'ers to begin with, makes everything so much easier, and you might even make a new friend,
a true win-win.

.
 
I think a major player in RV values is the immense range of personalization of a home built airplane. I am in the market for an RV-4 but would entertain the idea of an -8 (I have virtually given up looking) I have looked at many photos and been extremely disappointed compared to the written advertising. Paint, panel, and engine are the big players outside of the obvious craftsmanship.

Personally if I like everything but the paint I would discount it from the market about 10k. I know that is more than the going rate to put a different paint job on a plane, but it accounts for the pain in the butt factor and the, what problems will be uncovered factor as well.

Same goes for the panel. I have found in -4's that the size and shape of the panel leads to "inventiveness" to get things in there. I can't count on two hands how many times I have looked at photos of an aircraft I thought i was interested in and laughed. If you have to do too much work to get what you want it why not just build?

The engine is kind of the same story. If a person wants a fixed pitch 320 and a plane that has the perfect paint and panel has a c/s 360 would they buy it? It is a completely different animal than what they want.

Just some of my thoughts.

Mark
 
RV Wannabe said:
The engine is kind of the same story. If a person wants a fixed pitch 320 and a plane that has the perfect paint and panel has a c/s 360 would they buy it? It is a completely different animal than what they want.
Click to expand...

That has to be a rare case. Who would shy away from an O-360 over an O-320?

Maybe a CS prop over a fixed pitch but most likely that would be due to irrational fear of another knob or inexperience.
 
Someone who wants a light airplane for flight characteristics. I have done a lot of reading on -4's from those who have flown light vs heavy and light seems to always win. Years ago ('93) I had a long conversation with van himself and he had no support at all for a c/s in a 4. Don't know what his view is now, but it was quite clear then. This is obviously a -4 subject, maybe even a -3.

Certainly no fear of a little blue knob, heck you don't even have to think much with one of those speed brakes installed.

Mark
 
RE: Elasticity in Action

Hi Mark

Thanks for making my points about elasticity of the buyer and also by inference the seller.

Now that I have actually built an RV .... Standard Build ..... Pounded Every one of those rivets..... Wired It ..... Hung the engine .... Built the panel .... And Even Painted It .... Did The Interior ( Abby did do the seats ) ..... And Bleed Real Blood..... Cried Real Tears ...... and had an absolute blast flying it .....It kills me nearly to have to sell it.

In the real hard world of negotiations, emotion should play little if any into the equation. But as the seller my elasticity will depend somewhat on the old respect factor and I know I will only sale N74BZ to someone that has a real notion of what it takes to build one of these metal magic carpets. Parochial I know but that is just me:eek:

Mark, give it a try .... Build that airplane that fits you perfectly .... It is great to do this .... I know from experience and I know you will be happy with what you produce.

RV Wannabe said:
I think a major player in RV values is the immense range of personalization of a home built airplane. I am in the market for an RV-4 but would entertain the idea of an -8 (I have virtually given up looking) I have looked at many photos and been extremely disappointed compared to the written advertising. Paint, panel, and engine are the big players outside of the obvious craftsmanship.

Personally if I like everything but the paint I would discount it from the market about 10k. I know that is more than the going rate to put a different paint job on a plane, but it accounts for the pain in the butt factor and the, what problems will be uncovered factor as well.

Same goes for the panel. I have found in -4's that the size and shape of the panel leads to "inventiveness" to get things in there. I can't count on two hands how many times I have looked at photos of an aircraft I thought i was interested in and laughed. If you have to do too much work to get what you want it why not just build?

The engine is kind of the same story. If a person wants a fixed pitch 320 and a plane that has the perfect paint and panel has a c/s 360 would they buy it? It is a completely different animal than what they want.

Just some of my thoughts.

Mark
Click to expand...
 
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