Has the classic car market bubble burst?
Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2024 9:24 am
"Read what some classic car enthusiasts are writing online, and you'll come to one conclusion: prices are in reverse. Sell-through rates at auction - when a car changes hands after a successful winning bid - have also declined over the past 12 months and advertised values are down. The obvious synopsis would be that the market's bubble has burst after prospering through Covid and beyond. But is that really the case?"
Classic car expert & editor at the Hagerty Price Guide, John Mayhead, explains....
"Data from the Hagerty Price Guide - Across the 2,851 different models of classic car under review, average values are currently at 86 per cent of where they were in June 2020. And their 'market rating' - which tracks insured values, dealer prices and auction results - is down 13 points from its all-time high in June 2022.
But there are three important words from the previous paragraph that give a clue to the truth: the 'all-time high' was there for a reason: Covid.
People sat at home, realised that life was short, and some decided to buy the classic they'd always wanted. It was like thousands of mid-life crises all coming at once. Demand went up, some people paid over the odds to get the car they wanted, and sellers responded by hiking their prices. For a time, buyers played the game. Then, real life - and the cost-of-living crisis - hit home. Bills rose, mortgage rates went up and fuel prices soared. Buyers started being much more careful with their money, auction rates dropped and dealers reported that buyers were looking, but not buying. As a result, prices started to fall."
Here's why prices won't plunge after the recent surge:-
"What we're seeing now is some parts of the market correcting and realigning back to a healthy state.
For some models, the post-pandemic boom wasn't realistic, or sustainable, and at heart, most enthusiasts knew that...."
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/car ... surge.html
Classic car expert & editor at the Hagerty Price Guide, John Mayhead, explains....
"Data from the Hagerty Price Guide - Across the 2,851 different models of classic car under review, average values are currently at 86 per cent of where they were in June 2020. And their 'market rating' - which tracks insured values, dealer prices and auction results - is down 13 points from its all-time high in June 2022.
But there are three important words from the previous paragraph that give a clue to the truth: the 'all-time high' was there for a reason: Covid.
People sat at home, realised that life was short, and some decided to buy the classic they'd always wanted. It was like thousands of mid-life crises all coming at once. Demand went up, some people paid over the odds to get the car they wanted, and sellers responded by hiking their prices. For a time, buyers played the game. Then, real life - and the cost-of-living crisis - hit home. Bills rose, mortgage rates went up and fuel prices soared. Buyers started being much more careful with their money, auction rates dropped and dealers reported that buyers were looking, but not buying. As a result, prices started to fall."
Here's why prices won't plunge after the recent surge:-
"What we're seeing now is some parts of the market correcting and realigning back to a healthy state.
For some models, the post-pandemic boom wasn't realistic, or sustainable, and at heart, most enthusiasts knew that...."
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/car ... surge.html