If you’re shopping for a pre-owned RV, we have a mixed bag of news in the RV market report. The figures here are for May’s wholesale auction prices, according to market watcher Black Book.
Market report towables – up just a bit
Towable values haven’t changed much in nearly four months. The average selling price for a fifth wheel or travel trailer was $21,362. That price was up $232 (1.1%) from sales in April.
And how old were these rigs? Model year 2017 was the “average year” at the sale houses. How does this all stack up against the same time in 2022? In May, the average towable unit sold for $20,198, an uptick of 5.8% – a bit more than the inflation rate for the same time period, which was 4%.
But motorhome prices are anything but placid
Black Book analyst Eric Lawrence reflects that motorhomes haven’t been nearly as placid in the RV market report. “Motorhomes have been a bit more unpredictable, bouncing between the mid $60,000s and the mid $70,000s,” he says. Buying a used motorhome at auction in May meant plunking down an average $73,393, up a whopping 12.3%, or $8,027. That’s 12+ percent in just a single month. So, how far have motorized units gone up in the last 12 months? April 2022 saw the average price at $68,948, so a 6.5% increase, definitely higher than inflation. The average model year of motorhomes sold at auction this May was 2013.
What’s behind the numbers?
So what’s behind these market report numbers? Another key indicator is that the number of used RVs sold, both motorized and towable, is on the decline. 14.5% fewer motorhomes sold at auction, while 8.1% fewer towables went under the gavel. Eric Lawrence thinks it has a lot to do with what’s happening on dealer lots. “Recent RVIA reports showing that new shipments are down by nearly 40 percent year over year, indicating dealers having fully stocked lots, likely explains the recent drop off in auction volume.”
Fewer units sold, but still, prices are higher. We could likely attribute that to the seasonal timing. Dealers are filling in any vacant spots on their lots, anticipating that the summer travel season will bring them buyers.
Next month’s market report should give us a better handle on that. If you’re shopping for a used rig, figure you’ll spend a bit more. If our “crystal ball gazing” is accurate, then hanging on another month or two before shopping for a used RV might give your bank account some relief.
##RVT1113b
Dealer lots seem to be full in L.A. lots of towable, many Class A, few Class C, not many Class B.
Agree.. lots of full lots… in the Midwest also.
Buying any RV from the Covid era on is a big mistake. Whatever quality that did exist went down the crapper.
Assuming the problems aren’t structural, a lot of those problems will get fixed by the end user. Love my 2023, despite having a huge number of initial quality defects.
My 2023 has the same typical annoyances of pre-COVID units such as bird nest wiring, inconsistently crimped hose clamps, loose/incorrect wiring connections, poor sealing, stripped/loose/missing/cross threaded fasteners and the likes. All of which can’t be passed on to the next owner.
That said, I’d agree with ya Gary if there weren’t a shortage of qualified RV technicians and mechanically competent owners. I think the COVID units are much more taxing to the first buyer than earlier models and for the afore mentioned reasons, they are most likely to be patched versus fixed. I could be wrong though.
I looked at a 2020 Grand Design Reflection 287RLT and the dealer wanted almost as much as new, but only offered me below book value for my Jayflight 29RKS which had a lot of options. Plus they want $10,000. down payment. so far they didn’t get any sale.
Prices will be down another 15% through next season. Another hike by the fed will cement that even though we’re already on a good inflation pace. This will be the nail…
We just finished (yesterday) our annual maintenance visit to the Newmar Service Center in Nappanee. While there I had the opportunity to view their inventory backlog. As of this week there was only a 28 day supply of new units at their dealerships.
I am curious how they think auction prices reflect the real-world market. The percentage of RVs sold at auction has to be very low and I don’t know how many places selling them are buying RVs from auctions. I know that the prices around us have fallen substantially and there are plenty available on the lots.
In June 23, I drove from Illinois to Seattle and back. All RV lots were full of campers for sale. And there are a lot of RV lots. Took 90/94 out and 84/80 back
Thank you! 🙂