Auction Stats Q1 Data Shows a Steady Market, Despite a Dip in March
Overall, the specialty car market saw a healthy boost in Q1, with both sold listings and total dollar volume on the rise compared to the same period in 2024. Average prices also saw a slight uptick – an encouraging signal after a mostly flat 2024.
A key driver? Stronger performance at live auctions outside of the major tentpole events of Scottsdale, Kissimmee, Amelia Island, or Miami. Prices at these “other” live auctions rose meaningfully, suggesting that high-quality inventory is showing up in more places – and buyers are following. This tracks to the broader trend we’ve tracked for some time: live auction houses are diversifying their calendar and curating better cars. And in Q1 2025, that strategy appears to have paid off.
We also saw a modest gain in Online activity, along with a healthy increase in average prices at the Amelia Island and Miami events.
That said, with newly announced U.S. tariffs and growing economic uncertainty making headlines, there’s a fair amount of speculation about what’s next. We’ll be keeping a close eye on how these factors play out – and we’ll keep you updated along the way.
Year-to-Date Review
When we break it down by format, live auctions have accounted for the bulk of the growth so far this year, with strong momentum coming from both major events and smaller one-off events. That said, online auctions continue to hold steady, maintaining a significant share of total volume. While the pace of growth online has cooled compared to the highs of 2021–2022, the segment remains a key part of the market, offering consistency and scale. Together, both formats are proving to be complementary rather than competitive – with different types of inventory finding their audience in different settings.
March 2025 in Depth:
March’s auction numbers may have dipped into the red, but when viewed in the context of the full 2025 landscape, the specialty car market continues to show the same steady hand we’ve seen over the past two years.
The timing of RM Sotheby’s Miami auction in February, rather than in March with the related auctions at Amelia Island, had an impact on some of the month’s headline numbers on paper, including average price, top sale, and total dollar volume. But dig a little deeper, and a more interesting story emerges. Online auctions saw year-over-year gains in both dollar volume and total listings sold, signaling continued stability across the market.
March Top 10 Sales
March’s Top 10 sales were all fueled by the Amelia Island auctions, with Broad Arrow and Gooding & Company each landing five of the ten spots. Every car in the Top 10 cleared $2.4M, and 27 listings broke the $1M mark – including two that sold online.
March Top Online Sales
#1 Online
#20 Overall
#2 Online
#27 Overall
#3 Online
#30 Overall
March Top 10 Flips & Flops
Below is a list of sales that stand out as “Flips” or “Flops”—vehicles that changed hands this month that have documented past sales history. Below, these cars are ranked by their percentage increase or decrease in value, with time between sales also factored in*.
While some purists argue that a genuine “Flip” or “Flop” occurs only within a 12-month timeframe from the previous sale, we believe this list offers entertainment and insights that a narrower window would overlook.
Flips
Flops
*It’s plausible (and likely) that cars have changed hands in private transactions between these public listings; nonetheless, this data provides valuable insights into which cars have realized significant gains or losses compared to their previous sales. Enjoy this data at your own discretion.
March Market Busters
It’s not just about six- and seven-figure sales – impressive results are happening across all price points. This month, these “Market Busters” set new all-time high sales records in their markets:
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This Report includes data from the following auctions:
Online Auctions:
* A Market on CLASSIC.COM is a grouping of comparable vehicles that have, at a minimum, the same Make, Model, and Model Generation. When relevant for purposes of valuation, a Market may be further segmented by Model Variant, Trim, Transmission Type, Body Style, and other factors.
**The CLASSIC.COM Market Benchmark (CMB) is a benchmark value for vehicles in a given Market based on data accumulated by CLASSIC.COM and calculated by a proprietary algorithm that takes into account volume and recency of each data point. CMB can be used to assess the performance of a market over a given time period. However, it does not represent the value of a specific vehicle.
Read more in our Glossary of Terms
