Private Market Access
The deepest private yacht market in the world, by some distance.
Florida is not simply a large yacht market — it is the market's operating system. The refit yards, the crew agencies, the surveyors, the management companies and the majority of American large-yacht brokerage are concentrated along roughly a hundred miles of coastline from Palm Beach to Miami.
That concentration has a specific consequence for buyers: information about which yachts are genuinely available circulates through the industry long before, and often instead of, a public listing. A captain mentions to a broker that the owner is building something bigger. That is the moment the yacht becomes available. It may never become listed.
Florida yachts also carry practical advantages for a US buyer. Survey and haul-out capacity is unmatched, the Bahamas are an afternoon away, and the sales tax position is well-trodden ground for Florida marine attorneys.
Sample dataPlatform demonstration. The opportunities shown are sample records used to illustrate how the private market is presented — they are not offers, and no vessel shown is represented as available.
10 opportunities published
Confidential · Masked until qualification
PRIVATE LISTING· Seller position confirmed
Italian Build · 2021
Florida
$2.4M–$2.9M
Estimated asking range
VERIFIED OFF-MARKET· Seller position confirmed
Italian Build · 2013 · Refit 2025
Florida
$12M–$14M
Estimated asking range
PRIVATE LISTING· Seller position confirmed
North American Build · 2024
Florida / Bahamas
$2.1M–$2.5M
Estimated asking range
PRIVATE LISTING· Seller position confirmed
Italian Build · 2023
Florida / Bahamas
$3.6M–$4.1M
Estimated asking range
PRIVATE LISTING· Seller position confirmed
Italian Build · 2019 · Refit 2025
Florida
$4.2M–$4.9M
Estimated asking range
PRIVATE LISTING· Seller position confirmed
Italian Build · 2022
Florida
$8.5M–$9.8M
Estimated asking range
VERIFIED OFF-MARKET· Seller position confirmed
Northern European Build · 2018 · Refit 2024
Florida / Bahamas
$28M–$34M
Estimated asking range
VERIFIED OFF-MARKET· Seller position confirmed
Italian Build · 2011 · Refit 2022
Florida
$9.2M–$11M
Estimated asking range
VERIFIED OFF-MARKET· Seller position confirmed
Italian Build · 2014 · Refit 2022
Florida / Caribbean
$26M–$31M
Estimated asking range
VERIFIED OFF-MARKET· Seller position confirmed
Northern European Build · 2010 · Refit 2024
Florida / Caribbean
$33M–$39M
Estimated asking range
Florida combines the largest concentration of US yacht owners with the country's dominant refit, crew and brokerage infrastructure. Yachts are physically present in Florida for maintenance and the winter season, and the industry that services them is the same industry that sells them.
Florida caps the total sales and use tax, including any discretionary county surtax, on a vessel sale at $18,000, according to the Florida Department of Revenue. The cap is one of the reasons large vessels are frequently closed in Florida. Rates and thresholds change, so confirm the current position with a Florida marine tax attorney rather than relying on a general figure.
Fort Lauderdale for the largest inventory and the refit industry, Miami for sport and performance yachts and a younger buyer profile, Palm Beach for privately used yachts with long single-owner histories, and Naples and Tampa on the Gulf coast for shallower-draft cruising boats.
A large share of Florida transactions above 100 feet begin as conversations rather than listings. That is not secrecy for its own sake — it reflects how tightly the industry is networked, and the fact that most credible buyers are already reachable through a handful of intermediaries.
For a buyer, the practical implication is that searching public Florida listings gives you an incomplete picture of what you could actually buy this season. The yachts that never got listed are frequently the better-maintained ones, because owners with well-kept boats have less need to advertise.
Fort Lauderdale has more inventory above 100 feet and far more refit capacity. Miami has a stronger market in sport yachts and express cruisers under 100 feet. For a large yacht purchase, Fort Lauderdale is usually the more practical base for survey and closing.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November. It affects insurance terms, where a yacht may be kept under its policy, and the availability of yard space. Many buyers deliberately close before or after the season rather than during it.
Yes, subject to the state's use tax rules and your insurer's named windstorm conditions. Both are worth resolving before closing rather than after.
Condition and maintenance history drive resale far more than location. A Florida yacht sees heavy sun and salt exposure, so a documented maintenance regime matters more here than in a cooler cruising ground.
The Florida cap limits the total sales and use tax, including any discretionary county surtax, on a vessel sale to $18,000. The Department of Revenue's own guidance is authoritative; rates, thresholds and conditions can change.
Where the yacht is delivered, where it will be kept and how it will be used all affect the tax position. Confirm it with a Florida marine tax attorney before choosing a closing location.
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice.
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