2024 Monterey Week auctions – the final reckoning and a comment from Simon

Two days later than usual, the figures are in. As we predicted, post-sale dealing into the early hours meant that the final results of auctions held Wednesday to Saturday were in the balance until late Monday night. We make sense of the numbers.
 
The numbers which the auction houses actually released, that is. Twelve cars are listed simply as ‘sold’. It might not sound much, but taking the lower estimate of each entry that totals $21,460,000. It’s not uncommon for canny dealers to ask for the prices paid post-auction to be kept confidential – to avoid that “but you only bought it for $xxxk in Monterey” moment. We don’t see cars such as the $5m+ 1960 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Cabriolet in dealer inventory, but it’s in that list. Keeping the sold price confidential also saves any embarrassment for the proud owner seeing his pride and joy finally cut loose on the cheap, possibly for less than they had previously declined.
 
Add that $21.5m to this year’s combined gross for the Big Four international firms and things do not look very different to last year: $352m vs. $363m. A bit down, but nothing remarkable. And that trend continues throughout all the other metrics other than age of cars sold, and number of entries breaking the million-dollar mark.
 
Both have a bearing on the general feeling that things were softer this year: older cars were not so easy to sell in 2024, and expensive older cars even harder. The Top 10 cars moved on in Monterey last week were younger, and on average less valuable, than in 2023 – a year which did include Bonhams’ £30.255m 1967 Ferrari 412P.

A final comment from Simon:

“The mood on the ground in the auction rooms this weekend was subdued, and if you looked around there were more empty seats than usual. It wasn’t necessarily that buyers were bidding less: there were simply less bidders. Much has been about the uncertainty leading up to the US election, but actually it just felt like buyers had been overloaded with cars they’d seen before, often hastily prepared for auction, and that rival auction houses had taken too many similar consignments in an attempt to win market share without worrying about who would buy them.

“When you consign your xxx, ask the auction house how many similar cars will be on offer. Hopefully next year they’ll be pickier, and we’ll see fewer auctions as the weekend schedule is so packed already that something has to give. The next few months should give us a better feel of the temperature of the market.”

 
Monterey Week Sales 2023 – Bonhams, Broad Arrow, RM Sotheby’s, Gooding combined at 20 August 2024 (2023)
 
Gross: $330,462,591 ($363,059,670)
Number of cars not sold: 111 (115)
Number of cars withdrawn: 5 (5)
Total number of cars: 649 (648)
Number sold: 538 (533)
Percentage cars sold by number: 83% (82%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 50% (57%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 62% (65%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 78% (80%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 11% (13%)
Average value of cars sold: $614,243 ($681,163)
Average year of cars offered: 1972 (1964)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 53% (52%)
 
Monterey Week Sales 2024, Top 10 Cars Sold by Value
 
1. RM 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider $17,055,000
2. Gooding 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider $14,030,000
3. RM 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport $12,985,000
4. Broad Arrow 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Rennversion $7,045,000
5. RM 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider $5,615,000
6. RM 1995 Ferrari F50 $5,505,000
7. Gooding 1955 Ferrari 857 Sport $5,350,000
8. RM 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Alloy $5,285,000
9. Gooding 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta $5,200,000
10. Gooding 1995 Ferrari 333 SP Evoluzione $5,120,000

Top 10 total: $$75,581,818 (2023, $87,940,000)
Average year of top 10 cars sold: 1968 (2023, 1950)
Average year of all cars sold: 1973 (2023, 1965)
Average year of all cars not sold: 1967 (2023, 1961)

Number of cars sold over $1m: 70 (2023, 91)
 
Broad Arrow at the Monterey Jet Center, 14-15 August 2023* – results (2023)
 
Gross: $61,256,511 ($55,927,440)
Number of cars not sold: 25 (26)
Number of cars withdrawn: 1 (3)
Total number of cars: 156 (169)
Number sold: 131 (143)
Percentage cars sold by number: 84% (85%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 51% (50%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 69% (73%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 82% (86%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 10% (8%)
Average price of cars sold: $467,607 ($391,101)
Average year of cars offered: 1977 (1966)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 38% (61%)
 
*Broad Arrow announced total sales of $71.5 million with 85 percent of all lots sold.
 
Bonhams at Quail Lodge, 16 August 2024 – results (2023)
 
Gross: $11,309,200 ($55,490,440)
Number of cars not sold: 25 (28)
Number of cars withdrawn: 1 (0)
Total number of cars: 107 (109)
Number sold: 82 (81)
Percentage cars sold by number: 77% (74%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 30% (62%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 57% (73%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 78% (86%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 7% (6%)
Average price of cars sold: $137,917 ($685,067)
Average year of cars offered: 1968 (1962)
 
Gooding at Pebble Beach, 16-17 August 2024 – results (2023)
 
Gross: $103,814,200 ($96,692,645)
Number of cars not sold: 33 (33)
Number of cars withdrawn: 1 (2)
Total number of cars: 185 (168)
Number sold: 152 (135)
Percentage cars sold by number: 82% (80%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 42% (58%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 63% (72%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 78% (84%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 15% (11%)
Average price of cars sold: $682,988 ($716,242)
Average year of cars offered: 1965 (1959)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 56% (46%)

*Gooding announced total sales of "over $108 million" with 82 percent of all lots sold.
 
RM Sotheby’s at the Monterey Conference Center, 15-17 August 2024* – results (2023)
 
Gross: $154,082,680 ($154,493,600)
Number of cars not sold: 25 (29)
Number of cars withdrawn: 2 (0)
Total number of cars: 200 (202)
Number sold: 175 (173)
Percentage of cars sold by number: 88% (86%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 59% (58%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 56% (49%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 74% (70%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 11% (17%)
Average price of cars sold: $880,472 ($893,027)
Average year of cars offered: 1976 (1968)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve:  55% (51%)

*RM Sotheby’s announced total sales of $161.2 million with 87 percent of all lots sold.
 
You can download a list of all cars sold by Bonhams, Broad Arrow, Gooding & Co and RM Sotheby’s sorted by make and model HERE.
 
Photo by K500