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Used Prices Predicted to Drop 3% in May


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SEE ALSO: Used Car Super Search

Washington DC May 13, 2014; The AIADA newsletter reported that Auto Remarketing reports that wholesale prices remained strong in April — taking a bit longer to turn down from tax-season highs than in previous years — but price relief for dealers and buyers in the lanes is in sight.

According to NADA’s latest Guidelines report, seasonality and a spike in used supply will serve to push wholesale prices down by an average of 3 percent in May. The market may be making up for April’s price strength. In fact, the predicted level of softening is roughly 1 percentage point more than the average May decline from 2011, 2012 and 2013.

This decline is expected after a month that showed little movement off seasonal highs. NADA's seasonally adjusted used-vehicle price index was little changed in April, sitting at 125.8, which ties with March as the highest figure the index has ever reached. In March, auction prices rose by 3.7 percent, and the average price of units up to 8 years in age fell by 1.1 percent in April.

According to the Guidelines report, price movement last month was in line with NADA's expectations as prices dropped the most for the segments that experienced the biggest increases in March.