Asking price doesn’t mean much

opinion

by Fayaz Hussain

August 24, 2026

As American buyers race to close before year-end, non-US buyers know that “moving ahead of the American wave is far easier than competing with it once it arrives”, says Sandler.

G650. Global 7500. G600. Global 6000. Pretty soon, aircraft on the pre-owned ultra-long-range jet market won’t have an asking price at all.

Jet Match just released its 2Q26 Quarterly report. It counted 84 ultra-long-range resale transactions in the quarter, against just 114 aircraft for sale. Jet Match founder Luiz Sandler says with so many listings carrying no public price: “The average asking price has stopped meaning much.”

Lenders are evolving how they structure the deals. Sandler says tighter valuations, smaller financed amounts and sometimes margin calls are being written in against the risk that values fall faster than expected over the loan term.

Sandler says that the research burden has increased. “The spread of ‘Make Offer’ listings have made market research and intelligence far more important,” he tells us, adding: “The gap between an asking price and a seller’s true expectation is harder to read.” Many sellers are “test[ing] higher prices simply to see whether the market will absorb the aircraft at those levels.”

Yet despite these stricter terms, buyer demand for financing remains resilient. Aircraft that sell are closing in five to seven months, according to IADA data in the report. This is against an all-jets average total days on market of 378 days.

For most of Jet Match’s clients: “Financing is less a constraint than an optimisation exercise – a question of capital cost and tax treatment.” Many pay cash and arrange a loan or leaseback only after the deal has closed, though Sandler cautions the approach “varies considerably from market to market.”

Sandler says the real friction from this has moved elsewhere. “Negotiating a contract is harder, because sellers are less flexible,” he tells us. Booking a pre-purchase inspection slot takes longer too, “as sellers increasingly resist more thorough inspections and the system is overloaded”, on top of tight MRO capacity and parts availability.

The deadline that matters most is December 31st. Bonus depreciation is a US tax break, but Sandler is clear its ripples can be felt across the world. “The market effect is global,” he says.

As American buyers race to close before year-end, non-US buyers know that “moving ahead of the American wave is far easier than competing with it once it arrives”. Sandler saw the dynamic play out this week, when a broker admitted pricing a jet above fair value because a US buyer would take it anyway, tax break and all.