Though powersports values dropped more than expected in November, the decrease could signal an equal upswing in spring values, according to data from a report Black Book provided Powersports Finance.
Powersports values typically fall during the winter as consumers buy fewer vehicles in cold weather. In the spring, values usually swing back up. In the “more distant past,” value swings were much greater with winter prices dropping steeply and spring prices rising by similar large amounts, Senior Analyst Scott Yarbrough wrote in the report.
“The last few years, prices have still followed this pattern, but with much smaller swings from high to low,” Yarbrough said. “This fall has the feel of years past, which hopefully means spring will be similarly enthusiastic on the upswing, but we will have to wait a few months to be sure.”
Overall, powersports values have dropped more than expected for the past two months, according to the report. In November, metric cruiser values dropped the largest amount of any segment, falling 4.6% month over month. Domestic V-twins fell 3.5% month over month.
Domestic V-twins were singled out in October for a larger than expected decline in price, which possibly signaled an incoming trend for the segment. However, the drop may have been an indication of a broader, seasonal trend for all powersports categories.
“Last month we noted [the domestic V-twin] segment for a larger than usual drop and singled it out for special attention going forward,” Yarbrough explained. “Rather than an issue with the domestic V-twins, which have performed a bit better than their metric counterparts and regular street bikes this November, it appears they were merely an early indicator of the broader, and somewhat larger, seasonal declines we have observed this month.”
Values of off-road motorcycles declined 4.5% month over month — the second largest fall of any segment. UTVs followed at 4.3%, and ATVs at 3.6%.
The only segment to see price growth were snowmobiles, which rose 0.9% month over month.
