Market Update Monaco Edition | September 2026
MONACO YACHT SHOW
Quick Industry Facts As of mid-August 2026, our subscription service SuperYacht iQ recorded 6,387 superyachts of 30 metres and above in operation worldwide, with a further 594 yachts over 30 metres under construction. The operating fleet remains strongly concentrated in the 30-40-metre segment, which accounts for 62% of all yachts in operation. Yachts between 40 and 50 metres represent a further 22%, while yachts of 50 metres and above account for 16% of the fleet over 30 metres. The yachts currently known to be under construction are larger on average than the existing fleet, as seen in the table below. So it seems that owners are gradually moving towards larger yachts.
Fleet at glance
Fleet type Number of yachts
Operating 6,387
In-build 594
Average length (Length overall)
41.7m
50.1m
Average volume (9ross 7onnes)
479
910
Share of yachts over 50 metres
15.8%
32.7%
The 30-40 metre segment nevertheless remains very important. No less than 114 of the 205 yachts over 30 metres completed in 2025 were in this size bracket, a share of 56%, while in the current construction book (the total of all yachts in-build over 30 metres), their share is only 38%, as a large amount of new yachts up to 40 metres were just delivered to their owners in the run-up to the summer season of 2026, so those boats left the construction book. Motor yachts continue to dominate new construction, accounting for 93% of yachts currently in-build, while sailing yachts represent just 7%. This is in marked contrast with the existing fleet, where sailing yachts still account for close to 15% of the fleet.
Where is the future fleet being built? Italy remains the dominant superyacht-building nation, accounting for 55% of yachts currently under construction, followed by Turkey at 15% and the Netherlands at 10%. Together, the three countries account for 80% of the global construction book. By gross tonnage (GT), however, the picture changes. Italy represents approximately 34% of total tonnage currently under construction, compared with 22% for the Netherlands, 13% for Turkey and 12% for Germany. Of the 23 yachts measuring 100 metres and above currently in-build, 15 are being constructed in Germany or the Netherlands, highlighting Northern Europe’s continued strength at the very top end of the market.
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SUPERYACHTTIMES.COM
MARKET REPORT 2026
Market Update Sales slow down but performance diverges across market segments Superyacht sales activity has softened in 2026, although the decline has been concentrated primarily in the new-yacht market. New yacht sales over 30 metres for the period January-July 2026 were down 16% compared to the same period of 2025, from 122 to 103. Also, total length of new-builds sold was down by 19%, while total volume (GT) was down by 23%. Although the new-build market appears to have slowed, we expect the figures to improve as the year progresses. Sales from the large Italian builders often take longer to become clear, as many deals are not publicly announced, while several very large custom new-build projects in Northern Europe are still awaiting final signatures. New-build activity also tends to gain momentum during the busy yacht show season in the third and fourth quarters. At the same time, the headline figures mask significant differences in performance between size segments. The new-build segment that appears to have taken the biggest hit so far in 2026 is the 40-to-50-metre category, where sales have almost halved, falling from 41 to 21. This segment has been hugely popular in recent years, but the inventory of available speculative new-builds offering attractive delivery times appears to have thinned out of late. At the same time, some of the latest sub-500GT motor yacht designs now extend beyond 50 metres, rather than sitting just below that threshold. By contrast, the 30-to-40-metre segment, which had previously experienced a slowdown, now appears to have stabilised, while sales activity above 50 metres continues to hold steady. The used market has remained comparatively resilient, with sales just 3% behind year-on-year in number of sold yachts at 207 for January-July 2026, compared to 214 in the same period of 2025. Total volume sold is actually up by 3% to 103,000GT from 100,034GT. So for used yachts being sold in 2026, it seems the trend is “go bigger!” Also, it might just be a coincidence, but used sales between 40 and 50 metres are up significantly compared to 2025, while new sales are significantly down as previously mentioned.
Superyacht sales, January to July 2025 vs 2026 2025 Jan-July
2026 Jan-July 136
140
120
113
100
80
53
56
56 41
60
39 40
21
18 9
10
9
9
10
17
16
14
7
5
7
20
0 30-40m
40-50m
50-60m
60-80m
NEW YACHTS
WE KNOW YACHTS
+80m
30-40m
40-50m
50-60m
60-80m
+80m
USED YACHTS
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MONACO YACHT SHOW
Speculation builds lead the charge The composition of new-yacht sales provides further insight into current buyer behaviour. Of the 103 new yacht sales we recorded so far this year, 66 involved projects started on speculation, 34 were started for the client and three involved yachts resold during construction. This suggests that, compared with last year, clients are increasingly favouring yachts already under construction or immediately available, rather than commissioning entirely new projects from the outset. Sales of speculative projects have risen by 12 compared with 2025, while client-commissioned projects have almost halved, falling from 60 in 2025 to 34 so far this year.
A market defined by contrasts Contrasting trends are increasingly defining the 2026 market. The global fleet continues to expand at a pace of around 200 new yachts per year, while the construction book continues on the slow downward trend it has been on since hitting its peak in 2024 off 695. Sales activity for yachts over 50 metres remains strong, while the 40-to-50-metre segment presents a more mixed picture. Meanwhile, the 30-to-40-metre new-build segment is showing signs of recovery following a period of weaker sales. Across the wider market, buyers have become more selective, with used-yacht transactions proving comparatively resilient while new-build sales have slowed more noticeably. With more than four months of 2026 still to come, these figures offer an interim, high-level assessment of the market ahead of the Monaco Yacht Show 2026..
Sales comparisons use 1 January to 31 July in each year to ensure like-for-like periods. SuperYacht iQ sales data was available through 20 August 2026 at the time of analysis
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MONACO YACHT SHOW
Yacht Ownership in Figures The US strengthens its position as the world’s leading superyacht owning nation SuperYacht iQ tracks ownership across the global operational superyacht fleet from 30 metres, providing insight into where the world’s yacht owners come from and how ownership is evolving. As of early 2026, the United States remained by far the world’s largest superyacht owning nation. Based on operational yachts over 30 metres for which ownership nationality is known, US owners accounted for 28% of the fleet, followed by Turkey at 7%, Greece at 6% and Russia at 5%. Looking beyond yacht numbers reveals further differences between ownership markets. While Middle Eastern owners account for a considerably smaller share of the fleet by number, they own some of the world’s largest yachts. The average Middle Eastern-owned yacht measures 52 metres and 1,102 GT, compared with 43 metres and 514 GT for US-owned yachts. Our expanding ownership coverage allows SuperYacht Times to analyse not only where yacht owners come from, but also the size and characteristics of their fleets and how ownership patterns are changing over time. For more detailed analysis of global superyacht ownership, see The State of Yachting 2026.
Nationality of superyacht owners, share in number of yachts 30m+, 2026 USA UK
4.0%
27.6%
6.2%
GREECE RUSSIA
4.9%
FRANCE
2.7%
GERMANY
5.2%
ITALY
3.1%
2.8%
1.9%
UAE
SAUDI ARABIA
TURKEY
6
7.0%
3.5%
AUSTRALIA
SUPERYACHTTIMES.COM
MARKET REPORT 2026
The Fleet at Monaco Yacht Show 2026 115+ €4.7 billion+
WE KNOW YACHTS
SUPERYACHTS ON DISPLAY Represented in the fleet on display
VALUE OF SUPERYACHTS OVER 30 METRES On display at Monaco Yacht Show 2026
101
SUPERYACHTS ON DISPLAY OVER 30 METRES (91 motor yachts / 10 sailing yachts)
40
NEW SUPERYACHTS Over 30 metres on display
61
USED SUPERYACHTS Over 30 metres on display
58
SUPERYACHTS FOR SALE Over 30 metres
5.2km
TOTAL LENGTH Of the yachts on display
52m
AVERAGE LENGTH Of the yachts on display
804 GT
AVERAGE VOLUME Of the yachts on display
2019
AVERAGE BUILD YEAR Of the yachts on display
48
SUPERYACHT BUILDERS Represented in the fleet on display
10
BUILD COUNTRIES Represented in the fleet on display
7