Managing expectations: how pricing and AI are reshaping the superyacht market

One of the biggest challenges facing the superyacht sector over the next three to five years is not regulation, sustainability or talent shortages – it is aligning buyer and seller expectations on price. So says Edmund Beckett, naval architect and senior partner at Burgess.

Rising costs widen the pricing gap

Beckett believes the growing disconnect between buyer and seller expectations is being driven in part by sharply rising new-build costs. Sellers are increasingly looking at the cost of replacing their yacht when judging its resale value.

“Many sellers are cognisant of the replacement costs for their yachts and are keen to keep the resale price of their yachts in touch with the rebuild costs – which can drive a wedge between buyer and seller expectations,” he says.

He notes that new-build costs have increased substantially in recent years due to supply chain costs, material costs and increasing yacht complexity.

Margin pressure is particularly evident in the custom new-build sector. Construction wages and luxury interior outfitting costs have risen, while shipyards and suppliers remain conscious of maintaining pricing that customers will accept.

This is all compounded by the fact that “at the start of a custom yacht project a shipyard will not know their precise construction costs and the project duration will run over three+ years,” says Beckett.

AI is changing the advisor-client relationship

At the same time, artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how owners access information and assess opportunities, creating new pressure on advisors to demonstrate their value.

How AI will shape and transform the marine industry is one of the topics the sector is not discussing enough, according to Beckett.

“Everyone in the industry, including owners, are far more educated and informed than five years ago and have AI at their fingertips – meaning keeping relevance and ‘expert advisor’ status is more challenging than ever.”

Owners and families now have access to more information than ever before. As a result, many clients arrive with firmly established views before discussions even begin, he says.

He believes one of the industry’s most underestimated challenges is the impact of AI on traditional advisory roles.

“With the growing reliance on AI, the industry needs to demonstrate that they can offer clients something that they cannot get (although they believe they can get) themselves,” he says.

Beckett argues that professionals must focus on adding value, opening opportunities and reducing risks rather than simply providing information clients can access independently.

Sustainability progress happens behind the scenes

While sustainability remains a frequent topic of discussion, Beckett says regulation is progressing at a manageable pace and yachting is not leading regulatory change.

Alternative fuels are becoming more feasible for new yachts, but significant onboard space requirements and limited shoreside infrastructure continue to restrict adoption.

However, he argues that many practical sustainability improvements receive less attention than they deserve.

These include designing yachts for greater cruising efficiency, improvements in equipment efficiency, advances in glass technology that reduce heating and cooling loads, more efficient air-conditioning systems and marine coatings that release fewer volatile organic compounds, reflect more heat and require less frequent repainting.

Expertise remains in demand

Despite widespread discussion about recruitment challenges, Beckett does not believe the sector faces a talent shortage.

Instead, he points to unrealistic expectations among some new entrants and the absence of barriers to entry for industry advisors and representatives.

The area where he sees a genuine challenge is finding experienced advisors with broad knowledge across all aspects of yachting.

As the industry has expanded, specialist expertise has increased, but professionals capable of advising across the full spectrum of yacht ownership, construction and operation have become harder to find.

Burgess is a yacht brokerage and superyacht services company providing brokerage, charter, yacht management, new-build consultancy and related services. More information is available on the company’s website.