After slowly, steadily increasing since 1991, prices for vintage guitars skyrocketed from 2006-2008, hit the wall, splattered, and fell when the recession hit. But, according to the Official Vintage Guitar Price Guide Index for 2013, they have now leveled off to 2007 numbers.
Should you wait for prices to drop further before buying a vintage axe? According to the VG Index, the price decline was off a cliff from 2008-2010. But from 2011 to this, the end of 2012, the drop has considerably slowed, nearly to a stop. Will prices continue to fall? The soothsayers at Vintage Guitar say this sooth:
"What does the future hold? Will there be another bubble? You'd think not. But those whose hometowns have gone through couple of oil and real estate booms can tell you people don’t always learn from the past. Will people in younger generations care about old guitars? Many up-and-coming bands play guitar-driven music (using vintage gear), and as they and their fans grow older, odds are pretty good they'll dig those guitars, just like you did! We don't know the future, but we do know the present, and prices haven’t been this low for quite a while. Maybe it's time to start looking?" (Introduction, The Official Vintage Guitar Price Guide 2013, p. 22).
We agree, except for the last part: ain't no maybe 'bout it! The market has corrected itself. Buy, Baby, buy! Get good buys before they say good-bye.
January 20, 2012