Since last year, the marine industry has seen boat inventory at an all-time low while consumer demand continues to climb. For boat buyers, this trend does not make for an easy task when searching for a boat. With inventory selling faster than ever these days, preparation is necessary when shopping for a boat. Check out these six tips for helping you find a boat when inventory remains low.
Six Tips to Finding a Boat When Inventory is Low
1.) Get your finances in order
With new and pre-owned inventory selling rapidly, there is no time to waste. Before searching for a boat to purchase, you should ensure your finances are in order. To start, you should get pre-approved for a boat loan, should you choose to go this route. Keep in mind that the requirements for boat loans are stricter than car loans. Galati Yacht Sales provides yacht financing and closing services for over 550 transactions annually. Our Galati specialists can help you navigate through this process. Learn more here.
2.) Work with a professional yacht broker
When searching for a home, most people enlist the help of a real estate agent to help guide them through the buying process. Likewise, yacht brokers offer the same guidance, knowledge, and expertise for boat buying. Working with a yacht broker when inventory is at an all-time low will ensure you can retrieve all the information upfront and fast. Brokers have years of experience dealing with the market and can set you up for success. They also have an entire network of contacts to help you throughout the life cycle of owning a boat.
Not to mention, yacht brokers have valuable insight into new listings before they hit the market. Sometimes boats don’t even hit the market because 1.) brokers already have a buyer lined up or 2.) they utilize their internal network of contacts to discover an interested buyer. Learn more about the benefits of working with a yacht broker here.
3.) Use Social Media
Stay connected with yacht brokers, dealers, and boat-specific pages through social media. Platforms like Instagram are quickly becoming today’s boating magazine, offering striking images and videos of boats for sale throughout the world. Oftentimes, many brokers and dealers will post new to market listings before they hit the MLS systems. Profiles on Instagram, like Nautical Network, along with our IG pages @galatiyachtsales and @usedsportfish, are constantly updating feeds with the newest available inventory.
4.) Expand your search
With today’s market, chances are you won’t find what you’re looking for in your area. Don’t worry— transportation options make it easy to relocate a boat after the sale. Check out our yacht transportation guide here.
5.) Sign up for email notifications
Another tip to keep you ahead of the competition is to sign up for email notifications through MLS sites or any brokerage firm that offers this type of program. At Galati Yacht Sales, we send out bi-weekly email notifications for recently added listings and the latest price changes available. You’ll automatically receive these updates in your inbox once you sign-up for our newsletter.
6.) Create Alerts with Yacht Shopper
Last but certainly not least, you can create alerts with the Yacht Shopper dashboard. Yacht Shopper is a customized tool built by Galati Yacht Sales that will notify you the minute a boat hits the market that fits your search criteria. The best part, it is simple and free to use. All you have to do is create a log-in for your private dashboard, set your search criteria, and you are finished. Yacht Shopper does the rest for you. To learn more, click here.
