I study airplane prices pretty closely since I am the one in our bank they call on to value planes we finance (just desk evaluations).
Anyway, there is truly some strange things going on that are very inconsistent with the economic drivers.
For instance...RV-6A's (O-320 equipped) which three years ago were going int he $50's and $60's, jumped to the $75M and above mark, now are back down in the $40-60 range for some decent examples and they are not selling.
150's have been somewhat strange too, with asking prices from the low teens into the 30's with minimal mod's. The movement has been slow as many of the ads on both ends of the spectrums will sit for months with no apparant action.
Cherokee 180C's tend toward the upper $40's to the low $60's, while two years earlier (the B model like mine) are selling in the high $30's to mid $40's. To me, these are the bargains in the market if you can find one with minimal issues (unlike mine). A 180 hp 1100lb useful load, 140 mph airplane for about the price of several 150/150's I have seen.
I doubt I will ever persuade my wife to go back to a 2 place, but if she would, I would land on an 150 hp RV6A in a heart beat.
Bottom line is, right now there is some confusion in the market. I suspect this is partly as people try to gauge the impact of the LSA's or perhaps try and get out of their airplanes into an LSA. Fuel prices too may be driving people to sell who have invested a lot into their planes, and they are hoping to get some of that back out.
Should be really interesting going into winter. Say about January..... Oh...and don't get me going about light twins. They are tanked big time. Cheaper to buy a twin (acquisition only) than a comparable single retract.
