Preowned Jet Sales Surge as Inventory Falls to Lowest Since Early 2024

The preowned business jet market has tipped decisively back toward growth. Preowned business aircraft transactions rose 11.2% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, according to data firm AMSTAT, running 14% above the 10-year average for the quarter and posting the third-highest second-quarter total of the past decade.

Supply tells the other half of the story. At the end of June, preowned inventory stood at 5.8% of the active fleet, well below the 10-year average of 7.2% and the lowest level since February 2024. Listings fell 8.6% year over year and have contracted 9.5% since the end of 2025. Business jets are even tighter than the wider market, with 6.5% of the active jet fleet for sale against a historical average of 8.1%, the leanest reading since August 2023.

Dealer data points the same way. The International Aircraft Dealers Association's second-quarter market report counted 397 closed transactions among its members, up 32% from 300 in the same period last year. Across the first half, accredited dealers closed 746 deals against 616 a year earlier, an increase of 21%. Members also bought 118 aircraft into their own inventories during the half, an 87% jump that suggests brokers would rather hold stock than wait for consignments.

From Slowdown to Squeeze

The acceleration reads sharply against the preowned market's slower stretch, when the Sandhills Global Equipment Value Index was recording cooling price growth and rising inventories across the turbine market. That loosening has since reversed. AMSTAT's own first-quarter analysis had business jet transactions underperforming early 2025; in the second quarter they climbed 15.5% year over year while supply kept draining.

IADA's survey respondents credit a familiar set of drivers: 100% bonus depreciation in the United States, healthy equity markets, acceptable financing conditions, and lengthy delivery backlogs at the manufacturers. The backlog is the piece that funnels demand into the used market. "With OEM backlogs for at least 24 months into the future, young, pre-owned airplanes are commanding a significant price premium, especially those that are current production models," said Phil Winters of Western Aviation in commentary accompanying the association's report.

Confidence has followed the volume. IADA members rated market conditions 3.45 on the association's five-point scale, up from 3.07 in the second quarter of 2025, and their six-month projection came in at 3.5.

Two Price Signals, One Explanation

AMSTAT's pricing data looks contradictory at first glance. Business jet median values rose 5% year over year and 2% year to date, yet average asking prices based on listings fell 29% to $4.8 million. The firm describes a mix effect rather than a downturn. "This divergence reflects a market where younger, higher value jets are trading and realised transaction values have continued to hold up while older, lower value units are staying on the market dragging down the average asking price," said Andrew Young, AMSTAT's general manager.

The split is starkest at the top of the market. Heavy jet median values climbed 13% year over year and 8% year to date even as average asking prices for the segment dropped 34.6% to $10.5 million.

Where Supply Is Tightest

Heavy jets led every category in the second quarter. Transactions surged 43.8% year over year, though the comparison base was a historically weak second quarter of 2025, and activity ran 44.2% above the 10-year average. For the first half, heavy jet transactions are up 18.5%. Just 5.2% of the fleet is listed for sale, the thinnest supply since February 2023.

Super-midsize jets were flat year over year but 11.6% above their 10-year average, with median values up 6% amid tight supply. At the premium end, scarcity is shaping how deals get done. Late-model super-midsize and large-cabin aircraft "are often receiving multiple offers shortly after becoming available," said Randall Mize of Leviate Air Group, with some drawing bids above asking price as motivated buyers compete.

Medium jets were the outlier. Transactions rose 13.6% year over year, yet the segment was the only one to run below its own 10-year average, and asking prices remain under pressure at $2.8 million, down 25% from a year earlier.

Light jets advanced 5.3%, sitting 10.3% above the decade average, while inventory tightened to its lowest level since March 2024. Turboprops turned positive as well: transactions rose 3.5% for the fourth-highest second quarter in ten years, with 4.8% of the fleet for sale, the lowest since February 2025.

"Inventory remains the defining feature of this market," said Chris Skurat, AMSTAT's director of sales. "With transaction counts up across most segments this quarter, sellers in tightly supplied segments like heavy jets are in an especially strong position."

A Market Tilting Toward Sellers

IADA's survey quantifies the shift in leverage. Asked who drives today's market on a five-point scale, with five representing buyers and one representing sellers, respondents answered 2.74, down from 3.44 a year earlier. Supply chains, international conflicts and tariffs topped the list of concerns, but none has yet dented volume.

Brokers expect the run to continue. John Odegard of 5x5 Trading anticipated "a continued robust market through the end of the year," barring a major global disruption. The practical read for buyers is already written into the numbers: late-model aircraft in the tight categories are selling quickly, at firm prices, to whoever is prepared to move first.