Sailing into recovery? Tracking the 2024 market upswing

The market for new sailing superyachts is a small one compared to the motor yacht market, but it has seen some very interesting developments as of late. Our Head of Intelligence Ralph Dazert takes a dive into the data about this market segment.

New sales changing tack?

Sales of new sailing yachts in 2024 defied the downward trend witnessed in the overall newbuild and used yacht market over 30-metres. They were up by three units compared to 2023, to 15 units, which is also the average of the last ten years. So still not a staggering number as we saw 21 sales in the boom year of 2021 and in 2018 as well, but behind these 15 sales of 2024 are some important developments. Also the contrast between the upward movement of new sailing yacht sales versus the downward in the sales of their used counterparts is interesting to note. It is important to note that this upswing in sales is restricted to the 30-40-metre segment as the high-end custom segment above that is a very small niche with a rhythm of its own.

In September 2024, Italian superyacht powerhouse Sanlorenzo announced the completion of its acquisition process of the Finnish sailing yacht yard Nautor Swan, which Sanlorenzo bought from the Italian fashion mogul Leonardo Ferragamo. Swan sold three yachts in the summer of 2024, including hulls 2 and 3 of the Swan 108 model and hull 5 of the 98 model. Most of these deals were likely already concluded before the completion of the takeover by Sanlorenzo. These orders came on top of the sale of the second hull of the 128 model earlier in 2024. Swan had no new yacht sales over 30 metres in 2023.

In addition, we saw the other main Finnish super sailing yacht builder, Baltic Yachts, replenish its orderbook over 30 metres, signing its first sailing catamaran with the 32.9-metre Zeteo project and a 37.08-metre custom sloop for a repeat client. Again, the company had sold nothing new over 30 metres in 2023.

Also the South African yard Southern Wind saw its sales go up from just one new yacht over 30 metres during 2023 to three in 2024, while Polish catamaran specialists Sunreef sold two new sailing cats over 30 metres during 2024, one more than in 2023.

A gust of wind or a steady breeze?

So was 2024 the start of a prolonged upswing in new sailing yacht sales or just a temporary glitch? Market experts acknowledge that there was a bit of a “boom” in the summer of 2024, particularly owing to a scarcity of available build slots, with next available delivery options as far out as 2026 or 2027. However, the lack of availability of attractive used yachts also played its part, as the available inventory of used yachts had been cleared out during the post-Covid sales boom between 2021 and 2023. This pushed several clients who had been considering new-builds for some years to finally make their move, but also several first time buyers were won over. It remains to be seen if the same sales success can be achieved in 2025, as first indications are that more owners are looking to list their used sailing yacht for sale, although we do not yet see that in the number of sailing yachts newly listed for sale (28 as of late May 2025 versus 29 for the same period of 2024). Meanwhile, available build slots remain scarce. On the upside, pricing has become more stable since about late 2023 as the inflationary peak during the Covid years subsided and supply chains have become more stable. Still, it remains a challenge for shipyards to accurately price a newbuild delivering in late 2007 or early 2028.

Some fresh blood in terms of super sailing yacht ownership is coming from clients who order sailing catamarans. During 2024, no less than five of these were sold, up from two each during 2023 and 2022. Owners buying sailing cats tend to be a different crowd from those buying sailing monohulls and tend to be attracted by the stability, comfort and space offered by the cats, possibly making them a possible viable and eco-conscious alternative to motor yachts.

So, while 2024 was widely acknowledged to be a good year for new sailing yacht sales, particularly in the 30-to-40-metre size bracket, it might prove to be a challenge to replicate the same success in 2025.

This article was first published in Issue 53 of the SuperYacht Times newspaper, available for download at this website.