Auction prices for full-size pick-up trucks in the US are up nearly 7% through the first four months of 2013, according to the NADA Used Car Guide (May edition).
The increase echoes rising demand for new pick-ups such as Ford’s F-150.
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“The recovery of home values and increased residential construction, stabilising gasoline prices and a decline in late-model supply have resulted in higher trade-in values for full-size pick-ups,” said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst with the NADA Used Car Guide.
A key factor contributing to the higher values for used, full-size pick-ups, which have increased in price 28 percent from 2007 to 2012, is the basic rule of supply and demand, NADA says.
“The late-model, used supply of full-size pick-ups has yet to recover from the dramatic fall off in new vehicle sales caused by the economic recession,” Banks added.
The supply of full-size pick-ups up to 8-years-old declined by 17 percent from 2007 to 2012, and will fall by an additional 8% on an annual basis in 2013, NADA predicts.
“The continued slide in supply comes at a time when demand is heating up and the housing market improves,” Banks said.
New housing starts totalled 781,000 in 2012, and the US National Association of Home Builders estimates that housing starts will jump to at least one million units in 2013.
Home prices are also on the rise, up 8.7% over the first two months of 2013 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index.
“The increase in home prices will continue to stoke demand for full-size pick-ups, particularly those in configurations most frequently used in construction applications, such as lower-priced 2-wheel drive, regular cab trucks with V-6 engines,” Banks added.
