While the sales volume was way up, due to more cars being on offer, many sold for under estimates or not at all.
(Bloomberg) — A record number of cars on offer pushed sales totals sky-high during the auctions around the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on Sunday in Amelia Island, Florida.
Four auction houses saw $178 million in sales, up from $127.7 million last year and besting the then-record $140 million in 2016. Bonhams, Broad Arrow, Gooding & Co. and RM Sotheby’s offered 452 vehicles altogether to some of the nation’s wealthiest collectors, up from 244 in 2022. Last year’s totals do not include Broad Arrow, the auction house newcomer owned by insurance-company-turned-lifestyle-conglomerate Hagerty, which didn’t hold an Amelia sale in 2022. (Hagerty purchased the 27-year-old Amelia concours itself in 2021.)
But while Gooding & Co. and RM Sotheby’s in particular saw high sales totals and robust sell-through rates, dozens of estimates proved too bullish for investors’ taste. A headlining Ferrari 250GT LWB California Spider and Porsche 907K failed to sell at all on the auction block, while dozens of other big-ticket cars sold for less than even their low estimates. Many lots went unsold altogether, with the average sell-through rate across all auction houses at 87% compared to 91.6% in 2022.
“It’s definitely a lot more work to sell a car now,” Peter Brotman, a private automotive broker, said on the show lawn on Sunday. “It’s not an overall market adjustment, but we are seeing some price adjustments.”
Ferraris Finish First
Surprising exactly no one, Ferraris comprised most of the top sellers of the weekend. Gooding & Co. had the biggest splash, with a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider that sold for $18,045,000. RM Sotheby’s won the next four of the top five money makers, selling a 2010 Pagani Zonda R Coupe for $5,340,000, a 1995 Ferrari F50 for $5,065,000, a 1931 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible for $4.2 million and a 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO for $3.9 million.
But several other Ferraris sold well, too, and not the ones most often associated with blue-chip buys. A 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB “Vetroresina” painted in a desirable “Azzurro Metallizzato” blue and famous for its rare fiberglass body sold for $313,000 at RM Sotheby’s against a pre-auction estimate of $225,000 to $275,000. Two Dinos—the under-appreciated, lower-powered ’Rarri named after the son of the company’s founder—also went big. RM Sotheby’s sold a Ferrari Dino 206 GT for $868,500, while a 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS in a rare blue-green tone sold for $967,500 at Gooding—far more than its expected value of $600,000 to $700,000.
“The day of the million-dollar European market Dino may not be so far away,” Simon Kidston, who founded the classic-cars index and guide called K500, wrote in his post-sale report. “They were one of the highlights of the auction and possibly the whole weekend.”
Prices Plateau
Momentum from the annual Rétromobile auctions in Paris, and the auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona, in January helped push other cars to new heights as buyers flouted stock market volatility and continued to pour money into classic cars. For example, Broad Arrow sold a 1991 Mercedes-AMG 6.0 Widebody for $885,000 in Florida against a presale estimate of $750,000 to $850,000. Three McLarens at Broad Arrow also outdid expectations, including the 2015 McLaren P1, which sold for $2.4 million against a $2.1 million high estimate.
But many buyers found deals on vehicles that didn’t even meet their reserve prices, let alone their low estimates. (Auction houses sometimes make an agreement with sellers to offload the car at any price if the sale is moving slowly, even if the car’s reserve hasn’t been met.) Sixty percent of entries sold below their low estimate, while only 14% beat their top estimate, according to data from K500. In 2022, those numbers were 48% and 18%.
“Sellers set estimates as if it was ‘bull market’ business as usual. Why not? Anchor high and hope for the best,” says Juan Diego Calle, the chief executive officer of Classic.com, an online marketplace for vehicles. “But reserves were being adjusted until the last minute as owners and sellers came to the realization that the market has softened.”
This year Gooding listed 67% of its cars at no reserve, compared to 48% last year. RM Sotheby’s offered 40% at no reserve compared to 33% in 2022. Across all auctions, half of all lots were offered at no reserve compared to 46% last year, according to analysis from K500.
At Gooding, auctioneer Charlie Ross had to pump his notorious British charm across a crowded room to eke out $390,000 for a 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C, even though estimates for the cabriolet initially put it at selling for $550,000 to $650,000. At Broad Arrow, auctioneer Lydia Fenet worked hard to get $1.2 million for a 1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Series V Gran Sport Roadster that had been estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million. A 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB “Vetroresina” sold for $235,200 at Gooding even though its estimate ranged from $250,000 to $325,000.
“It’s worth noting that because of the online auctions, this ‘reset’ of pricing expectations is happening more quickly,” Calle says. “Before, we had to wait between Kissimmee, Amelia and Pebble to see the market. Now the combination of big live auction events with daily online results is giving sellers and buyers more real-time pricing.”
Auction House Shift
All told, Gooding posted the strongest results over the weekend of any auction house, reporting total sales of $72.7 million and a sizzling sell-through rate of 96%. RM Sotheby’s total of $63.2 million in sales and 89% sell-through rate fell short of Gooding, though the average price of a car sold at an RM auction ($809,757) soundly beat the average price of a Gooding car ($491,055).
Newcomer Broad Arrow, in its second major sale ever, saw $29.4 million in sales and a 79% sell-through, with an average sale price of $345,634 as it worked through classics such as 1970s-era Porsche 911s and 1960s-era Chevrolet Corvettes. Bonhams reported $12.8 million sold and a 78% sell-through rate, with an average sale price of $160,044, according to Hagerty data.
The weekend was RM Sotheby’s final appearance at the Amelia shows after a mass departure of key RM employees who’d launched Broad Arrow in 2021. Broad Arrow also replaced RM Sotheby’s this year in the coveted role as the official auction house of the Amelia concours. In 2024, RM Sotheby’s will hold a separate auction in March in a new location, a spokesperson says.
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