E XPE RT TAKE BY DIEGO GOMEZ / PHOTOS COURTESY OF WORTH AVENUE YACHTS
Easy Sell Sold! Yacht broker Diego Gomez of WORTH AVENUE YACHTS shares tried-and-true tips for listing your boat with ease, efficiency, and expertise.
Is there a time of year or a particular season, that you find is best to list a vessel for resale? Seasonality plays a factor in some markets more than others. While most Pacific Northwest boaters spend their time boating late spring through early fall, buyers for your boat may be located in Southern California, or even potentially the East Coast. Spring is a great time to go to market, but buyers are also hunting in the summer and fall to give themselves time to do maintenance or upgrades in the offseason, however, the period between Thanksgiving and the New Year is typically the slowest time. Since 2020, we’ve seen a strong seller’s market, with incredibly tight inventory supply for both new and used boats, coupled with increased demand, it’s taken most of the seasonality out of the market nationally. It’s important to consider both the actual cost and opportunity cost of holding onto or selling a boat. Remembering that, like the housing market or stock market, it’s impossible to time the peaks; it’s best to sell a boat when you’re ready to sell and when the boat is properly prepared to go to market. Are there any upgrades or maintenance items you recommend sellers consider making before putting a vessel on the market? As a seller, you have three main objectives in selling your boat: One, sell the boat for as much money as possible. Two, sell the boat as quickly as possible. And three, avoid any surprises that could derail the deal during survey inspections. You only get one chance to make a first impression. You can have all of the beautiful marketing collateral, but when a buyer steps on your boat for the first time, if there’s an odor, clutter, lightbulbs out, or flaking paint or chalky gelcoat, they immediately start to think; “If 66
the seller didn’t address these items, they probably didn’t take care of the more important systems.” It’s hard to change someone’s first impression. Buyers are already competing for inventory and paying more for boats these days. They’re also faced with long lead times for parts and service after they purchase. If you can think of ways to make their life easier, they’ll make yours easier in return. Doing an engine service and bottom job before going on the market allows the buyer immediate use of the boat, resulting in a higher price and a more willing buyer through the deal. A boat that shows well will help encourage higher offers and spend less time on the market, but avoiding surprises during survey is what will ensure the deal will close without having to renegotiate or fall out of contract and go back on the market. In this market, I suggest getting a pre-listing survey done. Especially on later model boats, many buyers are willing to potentially forego their own survey, which will greatly reduce the contingencies and closing timelines, and even if they do have their own survey performed, there should not be any need to re-negotiate. Let’s talk visuals: In your experience, just how important is it to get a boat photographed professionally? When do you also recommend videography or other multimedia assets? It is absolutely necessary, and not all professionals are equal. While smartphones these days can take great photos, the angles, lighting, framing, and color grading that a professional photographer can bring will make an incredible difference. In yacht sales, the photos, videos, and virtual tours are what we as brokers use to both attract and educate our buyers. It’s a delicate balance to display attractive photos without making the boat look better than it is. I never want a client to board a listing and be disappointed
