Sandhills Reports Pre-Owned Jet Inventory Up 6.14% M/M but Down 16.84% Y/Y in October
Why It MattersUsed-aircraft supply is rebuilding month to month yet remains well under last year's levels, and price movement differs sharply by segment, so no single market direction describes the whole pre-owned fleet.
What happened
Sandhills Global published new aviation market reports covering October data for aircraft listed on Controller.com and other Sandhills platforms. They show inventory climbing from September but still below year-ago levels, with asking prices moving in different directions by category.
Global used jets: inventory rose 6.14% month over month (M/M) and fell 16.84% year over year (Y/Y), a trend Sandhills describes as steady. Used light jets had the largest M/M inventory change, up 11.69%, while used large jets had the largest Y/Y change, down 34.17%. Asking values increased 0.86% M/M and 2.04% Y/Y and are trending up. Pre-owned large jets had the largest M/M asking value change, up 3.22%, and super mid jets posted the largest Y/Y change, up 2.26%.
U.S. and Canada used piston-single aircraft: inventory increased 2.5% M/M but decreased 5.67% Y/Y and is trending up. Asking values rose 0.32% M/M and fell 1.38% Y/Y, and have trended down for five consecutive months.
Global used turboprops saw inventory rise 6.05% M/M and fall 4.69% Y/Y, trending up. Asking values slipped 0.19% M/M and were nearly flat Y/Y, up 0.02%, trending sideways.
Global used Robinson piston helicopters: inventory rose 9.09% M/M and decreased 2.04% Y/Y, trending sideways. Asking values fell 2.50% M/M and 4.08% Y/Y and are trending down. The reports are based on the Sandhills Equipment Value Index (EVI), which draws on Sandhills' proprietary valuation tools.
Seller pressure ahead of year-end
Controller Sales Manager Terrin Mohl said pre-owned jet inventory levels remain high as sellers feel pressure to finalize transactions before year-end.
Mohl also said competitively priced piston singles have moved very well so far in Q4.
Industry impact & what to watch
The jet numbers show two things at once: listings are rebuilding from month to month, yet the Y/Y comparison is still negative, and sharply so for large jets at 34.17% below a year ago. A thin large-jet pool with asking values still rising is the usual signature of a segment where good aircraft are scarce and sellers hold their price.
Asking values are not transaction prices, and the EVI reflects what sellers list rather than what buyers pay. The piston-single category illustrates the gap: asking values have drifted down for five straight months, yet Mohl describes competitively priced aircraft as moving well, which suggests the price at which an aircraft is listed matters more than the category average.
The next data point is the November reading. If the year-end pressure Mohl describes is real, the jet figures for that month would show whether inventory keeps building or whether sellers who needed to close have cleared out.
