Methodology

How the Open Ocean Index is constructed, what it measures, and what it does not.

Overview

The Open Ocean Index is a quarterly benchmark of asking prices, days-on-market, and inventory activity across the global motor yacht and superyacht market. It is constructed from public-source data, segmented by vessel size, and published under documented methodology.

This page explains where the data comes from, what we measure, what we choose not to publish, the known limitations of our approach, and how independence is maintained. We update this page whenever our methodology changes.

What the Index measures

Each quarterly briefing reports the following indicators across the 15-metre-and-above motor yacht and superyacht market:

  • Ask price distributions — median, mean, and quartile asking prices, segmented by vessel length, age, builder, and region. Reported at segment level, never per individual vessel.

  • Days-on-market — median days an active listing has been on the market, segmented as above. A leading indicator of market liquidity and pricing realism.

  • Listing churn — the proportion of listings new to the market in the current quarter versus carried over from prior quarters. Distinguishes active markets from stagnant ones.

  • Ask price movement — within-listing price changes during the quarter (reductions, increases, withdrawals). The closest publicly observable proxy for motivated seller behaviour.

  • Inventory volumes — total active inventory by segment over time, a measure of supply.

  • Regional activity signals — concentration of listings, brokerage activity, and price movement by major region.

The Index is segmented across four size bands:

  • 15–25 metres (owner-operator)

  • 25–45 metres (managed mid-size)

  • 45–65 metres (starter superyacht)

  • 65 metres and above (superyacht and above)

Statistics are reported with sample sizes disclosed for every published figure. Segments with fewer than 10 observations are reported as "limited sample" rather than as point estimates.

The Index does not publish sale prices (private contractual information not available in the public domain), individual vessel valuations, commission data, or counterparty information. The Index is a segment-level market benchmark, not a vessel valuation or transaction reporting tool.

Data sources and coverage

The Index is constructed from publicly accessible market data. Source categories include:

  • Public broker listings — vessels actively advertised on broker websites, manufacturer dealer networks, and publicly visible yacht-for-sale aggregators. We capture publicly displayed information only — listing price, length, builder, year, location, broker.

  • Public registries and flag-state data — publicly accessible records from major superyacht flag-state registries, used to corroborate vessel particulars where available.

  • Public industry events and trade publications — information published at recognised trade shows and in trade press, treated as public-domain market intelligence.

The Index does not source data from subscription databases, licensed MLS feeds, or other sources whose terms of service restrict aggregation, indexing, or republication. The Index does not use information held under client confidentiality from advisory engagements.

Known limitations. We publish the following limitations so readers can weight findings accordingly:

  • Ask prices are not sale prices. The Index measures what sellers ask, not what buyers pay. The relationship between ask and sale in any private negotiated market varies by conditions, segment, and broker. Ask-price benchmarks are useful but indirect indicators of transaction value.

  • Public listings are not all listings. A portion of the market — particularly at the largest end — transacts off-market through private broker networks and never appears in public listings. The Index is more representative of the sub-50-metre market than the 65-metre-and-above market for this reason.

  • Source coverage is uneven. Coverage of publicly accessible European broker channels is stronger than coverage of pure US-broker inventory, where listings access is variable. The Index over-represents European-listed inventory and under-represents US-broker-exclusive inventory.

  • Days-on-market is approximate. Listing start dates are not always disclosed consistently. We use first-observed date as a proxy.

  • Non-English-language coverage is developing. Initial coverage is strongest in English-language listings. Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, and German listing coverage is expanding.

Independence

The Open Ocean Index is published by Open Ocean Group, an independent advisory practice. The firm does not act as a brokerage, management company, yard, supplier, or insurer.

Open Ocean Group accepts no commissions, referral payments, or other consideration from any party whose work it may evaluate in the course of its practice. The firm's entire revenue comes from owners and the professional fiduciaries who serve them.

The Index is constructed from public-source data and is not influenced by advisory engagements. Information held under client confidentiality is not used in published Index reporting.

Conflicts disclosure: Where Open Ocean Group has a current advisory engagement that touches a segment or region covered in Index reporting, this is disclosed in the corresponding briefing.

Updates and corrections

This methodology page is updated whenever our approach changes. Major methodology revisions are flagged in the corresponding quarterly briefing.

If you believe a published figure is incorrect, if you wish to discuss the methodology, or if you would like to contribute data to the Index, please contact lazaros@openoceangrp.com.

We welcome scrutiny. Methodology improves through challenge.