International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) members closed 75 more deals (288) in the first quarter (Q1) 2022 compared with the same period last year (213) – a 35% increase. Evidence, IADA said, of the continued bullish nature of the pre-owned market.

Wayne Starling, executive director, IADA said: “We live in tumultuous times. Despite that, the aviation field continues to show extraordinary strength. Global demand is very high. Much like Q4 2021, that demand is married to constrained inventory levels. From a qualitative point of view, our members sense a softening of those constraints and look forward to greater inventory levels as the year progresses.”

During Q1 2022, IADA members signed 223 acquisition agreements, had been retained to sell 155 aircraft, had 259 aircraft under contract and saw only 45 deals fall apart.

Gordon Cameron, vice president, Outbound Sales Team, XO Global and IADA-accredited dealer said: “Price elasticity is coming to the forefront; the rising cost of capital will put pressure on the opportunity cost of acquisition, feel the pricing levels will remain but, days on the market will start to creep up as demand slowly softens over the next 12 months.”

Cody Vanderslice, manager, Pre-Owned Market Analysis, Textron and IADA OEM member, said the Wichita-based manufacturer is continuing to see strong demand for aircraft.

“It does seem the speed at which we get a listing under LOI [Letter of Intent] is decreasing. It also seems there are more off-market aircraft being communicated. This indicates we may be seeing the first signs of the market softening a touch. Pricing remains very strong and availability remains very limited, but it’s possible the first week of March was the peak for pricing and low availability. We will know in a month,” said Vanderslice.