Report: New Historical Wholesale Auction Highs

A picture of a general travel trailer parked by a lake

RVs’ wholesale auction values set new high levels again in May, according to the Black Book RV Market Commentary.

Towables’ average selling price reached $23,176 in May, with motorhomes’ average price climbing to $68,623.

“The values of used RVs sold at wholesale auctions rose across the board once again last month,” Black Book Principal Automotive Analyst, Specialty Vehicles Eric Lawrence said. “Consumer demand continues to be red hot, and dealer inventories remain far below average.”

Values increased 4.3% for towables from April levels. The average selling price is 32.4% higher than the $17,506 recorded in May 2020.

On the motorized side, values increased 6.4% from the previous month. The average selling price is 45.3% higher than the $47,220 in May 2020.

Auction volume dropped in both markets, down 13.6% in towables from April 2021 and down 17.6% in motorhomes from the previous month.

“Auction volumes dropped noticeably last month, which is probably due to the ongoing lack of lender repossessions and dealers holding on to trade-ins that they would have normally sent to the auction,” Lawrence said.

The average age of motorhomes sold was 10 years (2011 models), and towables was six (2015 models).

Wholesale prices have continued to set records since May 2020. Prior to 2020, the highest recorded average selling price for towables was $15,935 set in August 2019. Prices have climbed 45.4% from those previous highs. For motorhomes, the previous record sale price was $49,667 set in June 2019. Prices are 38.2% above those previous highs.

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