Used RV prices edge up slightly; analyst predicts they’ll go down soon

As more 2025 RV models hit dealer lots, there’s bound to be some movement of older rigs to the auction house. What might seem surprising, during July, the most recent month of sales data, is where prices went. Used RV prices edged up slightly, according to Eric Lawrence, the principal market analyst with Black Book, an industry number watcher.

Used RV prices edge up slightly—a statistical glitch?

But, says Lawrence, we could easily be seeing some statistical glitches. Looking at the apparent rise in used motorhome prices, up 2.3% from June sales, there might seem to be a rally of sorts. But he notes that seven or eight motorhomes auctioned off at nearly $350,000. This is quite unusual, with many higher-value Class A’s going across the block, and this skewed the overall motorhome average price. This is “not an overall market thing,” says Lawrence.

Towables also saw a price gain, up 1.3% from the prior month’s value. Again, says Eric Lawrence, it is likely due to an underlying factor: average age. In Black Book’s work, when calculating average age, it’s rounded to the nearest year. “Four or five months newer could account for a 1% variance of price,” Lawrence told us, not having the time to depreciate as much.

But what about year-over-year?

Looking at the graphs for both motorhomes and towables, we noted that July’s year-over-year values were higher when compared to June’s year-over-year figures. Don’t worry about a single month, he told us. “Look at the overall graph – they’re trending up, or they’re trending down, not giving too much credence to any one number.” He added, “One month might have a more expensive mix.”

And speaking of that “more expensive mix,” that sounds like motorhomes in this report. Lawrence scratches his own head. “The real question to ask might be, ‘Why are there more Class A’s this time?’” Well, yeah. Why? “I don’t know if it’s a matter of getting trades they [the dealers] didn’t want, or a matter of aged inventory they decided to send to the auction to move it along. We’re having to make our best guess as to why.”

And as to future RV prices…

What about used RV values in the future? “As more new 2025 models arrive on dealer lots, we expect used values to trend downward as we head into fall,” says Black Book’s RV prognosticator. While he doesn’t expect RV prices to “fall off the cliff,” he does anticipate that in the short-term, prices should be heading down.

In the longer term, things aren’t as clear. The RV industry manufacturers are touting a great year in 2025. Will they have it? Lawrence says, “I don’t have any reason to doubt it,” pointing to the expensive analysts that the industry hires to peer into the sales tea leaves.

Statistical bottom line

Taking a closer look at the markets, we see that the average selling price for motorized units was $70,356, which is up $1,600 (2.3%) from the previous month. Towables came in at $19,311, up $254 (1.3%) from last month. One year ago the average motorhome sold for $65,316 and the average towable unit brought $21,750.

Auction volume was down: Motorhomes decreased 10.2% while towables dropped 10.1%. The average age of motorhomes was 8 years old (2016) and towables was 5 years old (2019).

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