The short answer
- The GetBoat index puts value retention at 82% after three years, 72% after five and 52% after ten, measured across 8,474 priced listings.
- In euro that is the largest single cost of ownership: €674,436 over five years on the median motor yacht 62-85 ft, against €1,278,812 of running costs over the same period.
- Depreciation is the one major cost that scales perfectly with share size, which makes it the strongest financial argument for a group.
What the index says about value retention
Our market index tracks asking prices by model year across 8,474 priced sale listings. Measured inside each brand with enough model years — 112 brands, 3,528 listings — the implied decline is 6.3% a year. Pooled over the whole catalogue it reads 3.8%, but that number also carries the changing mix of brands and sizes between model years, so it is not what a single yacht does.
Curves are not promises: condition, hours, refit history and brand move a specific yacht off the line in both directions. The curve is a planning tool, and it is far better than the alternative of planning with no number at all.
The euro cost of holding, by class and horizon
Read this as “what the asset costs you to hold”, before a single litre of fuel. The final column is the same number carried by a quarter share.
| Class | Horizon | Value lost | Per partner (4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motor yacht 50-62 ft | 3 years | €200,152 | €50,038 |
| Motor yacht 50-62 ft | 5 years | €311,347 | €77,837 |
| Motor yacht 50-62 ft | 10 years | €533,738 | €133,435 |
| Motor yacht 62-85 ft | 3 years | €433,566 | €108,392 |
| Motor yacht 62-85 ft | 5 years | €674,436 | €168,609 |
| Motor yacht 62-85 ft | 10 years | €1,156,176 | €289,044 |
| Motor yacht 85-110 ft | 3 years | €964,794 | €241,199 |
| Motor yacht 85-110 ft | 5 years | €1,500,791 | €375,198 |
| Motor yacht 85-110 ft | 10 years | €2,572,785 | €643,196 |
Original GetBoat data: 415 euro-converted asking prices of 50–110 ft yachts listed for sale by GetBoat and its partners on 2026-09-20, plus the GetBoat market index (8,474 priced sale listings, 85,489 charter listings). Asking prices, not completed sales. Individual listings are never identified. Model: annual running budget 10% of the yacht price growing 3% a year, resale after 5 years at 72% of the price (per-brand depreciation in the GetBoat market index) less 7% selling costs, 40 owner weeks a year. Excludes VAT, financing, personal tax and programme fees. Illustration, not an offer. Value lost = median asking price × (100% − index retention at that age).
Why this dominates the ownership budget
On the median motor yacht 62-85 ft, five years of depreciation (€674,436) is larger than five years of running costs (€1,278,812). Owners budget carefully for the second and rarely for the first, because it never arrives as an invoice — it arrives once, at the sale.
Split four ways, the same exposure is €168,609. Nothing about the yacht changed; the concentration of risk did.
How to reduce the exposure further
Two levers move the curve in your favour. Buying a yacht that has already taken its first depreciation step — our used band shows what that does to price per foot — and holding for a period that the curve rewards rather than selling into the steepest part of it.
The third lever is condition. A maintained, documented yacht sells closer to the top of its band; a tired one sells below the curve regardless of how the market moved.
Decision checklist
- 1Retention assumption written into the plan, not left implicit
- 2Depreciation compared against five years of running costs
- 3Your share of the value loss calculated in euro
- 4Holding period chosen against the curve, not the calendar
- 5Maintenance and documentation standard agreed by the group
- 6Brand and model resale record checked before the offer
What buyers ask next
Is the retention curve a guarantee of resale value?
No. It is a median across thousands of live asking prices; individual yachts land above or below it depending on condition, hours, specification and timing. Use it for planning and for comparing options, never as a promised residual.
Does a share depreciate the same way as the whole yacht?
The underlying asset does, and your exposure is proportional. Liquidity differs, though: selling a share depends on finding an approved buyer, which is a separate risk from the value of the yacht itself.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, financial, insurance or survey advice. Requirements vary by yacht, provider and jurisdiction; use qualified independent professionals for the transaction. Read our editorial policy.
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