Pre-Owned Jet and Turboprop Inventory Rose Month-Over-Month in September, Sandhills Global Reports
Why It MattersPre-owned aircraft data increasingly shows inventory and pricing moving in different directions across segments, suggesting buyers and sellers must track category-level trends rather than assume a uniform market direction.
What happened
Sandhills Global reported that pre-owned jet and turboprop aircraft inventory levels increased month over month in September, according to new aviation market reports released by the company. Global used jet inventory rose 5.07% month over month but remained 23.58% lower year over year.
Within the jet segment, the used super mid jet category recorded the largest monthly inventory gain, up 10%, while the used large jet segment saw the steepest year-over-year decline, down 39.8%. Used jet asking prices increased 2.02% month over month and 0.71% year over year, with the super mid jet category leading both measures — up 5.29% month over month and 4.2% year over year. Global used turboprop inventory rose 3.46% month over month but was 11.95% lower year over year, while turboprop asking values edged up 0.22% month over month and 0.57% year over year, with the overall trend described as sideways.
In the U.S. and Canada, used single-engine piston aircraft inventory was flat month over month but fell 12.24% year over year. Piston-single asking values decreased 0.74% month over month and 2.36% year over year and are trending down. Global used Robinson piston helicopter inventory increased 3.53% month over month but fell 2.22% year over year, with asking values for that segment rising 2.45% month over month while declining 3.24% year over year, noted as a downward trend.
Controller Manager Terrin Mohl said, "Jet inventory on Sandhills sites increased this month, and we've seen several jet aircraft sell quickly despite overall inventory remaining lower than last year. At the same time, piston aircraft is starting to move after a few slower months, suggesting the market is stabilizing rather than accelerating." The reports are produced using the Sandhills Equipment Value Index (EVI), a gauge of estimated market values of used assets across aviation and other industries, powered by the company's proprietary valuation tools VIP+ and AircraftEvaluator. Sandhills Global is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Industry impact & what to watch
This kind of monthly inventory and pricing snapshot belongs to a broader category of market-tracking data that buyers, sellers and brokers use to gauge whether a segment is tightening or loosening before committing to a transaction. A single month-over-month uptick alongside a steep year-over-year decline, as seen in the jet segment, shows how these two measures can point in opposite directions within the same category.
The pre-owned aircraft market operates across distinct segments — jets by size class, turboprops, piston singles, and even piston helicopters — and each can move independently, as September's data shows with super mid jets gaining inventory and value while large jets saw the steepest year-over-year inventory decline. Asking price movement does not always track inventory movement in the same direction or magnitude, meaning a rise in listings does not automatically signal softening prices.
Mohl's comment that jets are selling quickly despite lower overall inventory, paired with piston aircraft movement after slower months, points toward stabilization as the theme rather than a directional shift. Whether that holds will depend on subsequent monthly EVI reports showing whether the September gains in inventory and pricing persist or reverse across the jet, turboprop, piston-single and helicopter categories.
