Auction Stats The classic and exotic car market is experiencing a period of steady stability – making it a great time for both buyers and sellers. In May 2024, we didn’t see any big shifts compared to May 2023. Market stability has been consistent throughout 2024 so far, with prices and overall volume maintaining a similar level since 2023 (and still down from the peak we saw in the post-pandemic years of 2021-2022). Below is an overview of key metrics over the past 6 years:
When reviewing these numbers, it's important to note that in May 2022, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe was sold for $142M, making it the most expensive car ever sold. This slightly skews the Dollar Volume and Average Price data for May 2022.
May Breakdown
Overall, Dollar Volume at auctions increased just 3% year-over-year. This was led by a 6% growth in sales at online auctions, while live auction volume remained basically unchanged.
The 5% overall growth in Sold Listings was also carried by the online auctions. Sold Listings in live auctions actually decreased by 4%, whereas online auctions grew by almost 11%.
Live auctions continue to experience higher Average Price and Sell-through Rate compared to online auctions. While both metrics are stabilizing industry-wide, they notably remain substantially higher in live auctions compared to online.
As noted previously the $142M sale of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe in May 2022 slightly skews the Average Price data for that year.
Year-to-Date
Notable Sales
Top 10 Sales in May 2024
The live auctions in Monaco topped the leaderboard in May – claiming 9 of the top 10 spots. The only non-Monaco sale in the Top 10 came in at #4 from Bring a Trailer - who sold this Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport for $4M. There was 1 other online sale over $1M this month - this Ford GT Carbon Series came in #23 on the list, also from Bring a Trailer.
If the Top 10 Sales chart above does not load, please refresh the page and wait 10 seconds. Thanks for your patience while we get the gears running.
Top 10 Flips & Flops in May 2024
Each month, we track "Flips" and "Flops," which we define as cars with documented previous sale records. This enables us to calculate the net gain or loss and the time elapsed since the last sale. While some purists argue that a genuine Flip/Flop occurs only within a 12-month timeframe from the previous sale, we believe this list offers entertainment and valuable insights that a narrower window would overlook. Admittedly, it's plausible that cars have changed hands in private transactions between these public listings; nonetheless, this data provides valuable insights into which cars have realized significant gains or losses compared to their previous sales. Enjoy this data at your own discretion.
Flips
Flops
If the Top Flips & Flops charts above do not load, please refresh the page and wait 10 seconds. Thanks for your patience while we get the gears running.
Market Busters in May 2024
While most statistics and reviews tend to concentrate on the upper echelon of the market, noteworthy examples are consistently emerging across all segments of the industry. Our "Market Busters" chart showcases listings that broke records within their respective market segments and across all value tiers.
If the Market Busters chart above does not load, please refresh the page and wait 10 seconds. Thanks for your patience while we get the gears running.
Results are included from the following auctions in May 2024:
Online Auctions:
- ACC Auctions
- Auctomobile
- AutoHunter
- Bonhams | Cars Online
- Bring a Trailer
- Cars & Bids
- Catawiki Classic Cars
- CCA Everyman Practical Classics
- Clasiq Auctions
- Collecting Cars
- Fast Car Bids
- Formula Auctions
- Guys with Rides
- Hagerty Marketplace Auctions
- H&H Auctioneers
- Hemmings Auctions
- ISSIMI
- JDM Supply
- Kickdown
- Marqued Auctions
- P1 Groupe Auctions
- PCARMARKET
- Sackey & Co
- The MB Market
Header image courtesy of Gooding and Company / Michael Furman / The Mullin Automotive Museum
* A Market on CLASSIC.COM is a grouping of comparable vehicles that have, at a minimum, the same Make, Model, and Model Generation. When relevant for purposes of valuation, a Market may be further segmented by Model Variant, Trim, Transmission Type, Body Style, and other factors.
**The CLASSIC.COM Market Benchmark (CMB) is a benchmark value for vehicles in a given Market based on data accumulated by CLASSIC.COM and calculated by a proprietary algorithm that takes into account volume and recency of each data point. CMB can be used to assess the performance of a market over a given time period. However, it does not represent the value of a specific vehicle.
Read more in our Glossary of Terms
