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Purchasing the perfect private jet may become harder as pre-owned business jet inventory levels remain below pre-COVID numbers.
Sandhills Global aviation market report on May 8th states that its jet inventory has dropped 7.73% year over year, and increased by only 0.29% month over month in April. The used large jet category had the most significant impact on inventory levels, posting decreases of 7.26% month over month and 21.7% year over year. Asking prices for used jets increased 3.32% from the previous month but slipped 1.15% when compared to 2025.
"Used jet inventory levels are lower than they have been in a long time," says Controller Sales Manager Terrin Mohl. "So we may start to see pre-owned jet prices increase."
Another report, made by Jefferies on May 11, states that business aviation is increasingly attracting equity funds, family offices and growth equity investors. It states that travellers during COVID-19 pandemic turned to private flights out of necessity and stayed afterwards due to its productivity, privacy, flexibility and reliability. Investors find the infrastructure-like private aviation businesses more stable when compared to picking a commercial operator to invest in.
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Jefferies claims that the available used business jet inventory is down 11% year over year to 1,029. It also notes that when counting only jets less than seven years out of production, inventory is down by 37%. As a result, prices are up by 4% year over year, even if overall and young inventories did improve from April by 1% and 7%, respectively. It listed a 26% decline in inventory for heavy jets, a 8% decline in light jets and a 5% decline in midsize jets. It cites inventory declines in Gulfstream, Bombardier, Textron Aviation, Embraer and Dassault Aviation jets.With high demand and lower inventory, buyers should expect higher asking prices when looking to purchase their own private jet, especially those looking for younger used aircraft.