The sub-$50K crowd kept things moving in the first half of 2025. Even with fewer cars on offer, nearly 28,000 changed hands for a combined $547M… just ahead of last year. Average prices held just under $20K, but this segment isn’t about chasing big returns. It’s steady, reliable, and still the beating heart of the collector car market.
Key Stats – Under $50K Tier (H1 2025 vs H1 2024)
Compared with H1 2024, dollar volume rose +2.6%, sold listings +4.4%, and the sell-through rate climbed back to 68% (up three points after last year’s dip), while the average price slipped a modest -1.8%—clear proof that throughput rather than price inflation is powering growth.
Online auctions remained the locomotive of the sub-$50 k tier. They handled roughly two-thirds of all H1 sales and still managed to lift both dollar volume (+5%) and sell-through (up five points to 66 %) even after listing 4% fewer cars—a sign that realistic reserves and friction-free bidding continue to draw buyers in bulk. Regional “Other Live” sales also posted modest gains, moving 6% more cars on 3% more money, although a hint of reserve creep nudged their strike rate a point lower to 71%.
Kissimmee told a different story: consignors expanded the docket by nearly 10%, but softer demand for entry-level muscle meant the venue’s sell-through slipped five points to 69% and dollar volume ended flat year-on-year. At Scottsdale, the houses simply culled cheap inventory; consignments fell hard, yet a lean list still cleared at a near-perfect 92% sell-through rate. Amelia & Miami now represent only a sliver of this tier and the bargain-bin lots that did appear struggled—volume fell 11 %, units sold dropped 27%, and the STR languished in the low 30s. Net-net, sub-$50 k liquidity is gravitating toward digital lanes and carefully pruned live catalogues, while venues that try to push marginal cars at yesterday’s prices are seeing them stick.
Gains in the sub-$50K tier are driven by volume, not rising values. Average prices stayed flat or declined, but dollar volume hit a record thanks to more cars selling—especially online.
Online sales now dominate this segment. Two-thirds of transactions happened digitally, and online sell-through saw the biggest improvement of any channel.
The tier is selective but liquid. Sell-through rebounded three points as buyers responded to realistic reserves. Still, weaker results in Kissimmee and smaller live auctions show that overpriced cars can sit unsold—even at this level.
Looking ahead, this tier should remain the market’s liquidity engine. With strong affordability and rising throughput, it’s well-positioned to perform steadily through Monterey and beyond.
Top Markets
Using our CLASSIC.COM Market Benchmark*, we’ve analyzed over 5,000 individual markets** to pinpoint the top Growing and Slowing Markets so far in 2025 in the across five distinct value tiers: Over 1M, Between $500K-1M, Between $100K-500K, Between $50K-100K and Under $50K. To qualify for this list, a market must have more than five sold listings between January-June 2025.
Note: CMB is an indicator of how recent market activity has impacted typical market values. It does not guarantee individual vehicle appreciation.
Top 10 Growing Markets
Top 10 Slowing Markets
The sub-$50k market continues to run on volume rather than price spikes. While 42% of tracked markets showed gains in the first half of 2025, the overall Classic Market Benchmark (CMB) for the tier remains slightly below its Q1 level. Strength is concentrated in two sweet spots: 1960s driver-grade sports coupés and sedans, and 1980s analog performance cars and hot hatches. Cars newer than 2000 or older than 1950 are generally flat or declining, and high-volume models tend to hold steady unless a rare, standout sale shifts the curve.
Buyers are favoring classics that mix period character with everyday usability—especially late-analog cars from the ’60s to the ’80s. These vehicles hit the nostalgia sweet spot for Gen-X and early millennial collectors and are still fun to drive without breaking the bank. However, thin supply means that just one or two strong results can meaningfully reset values. On the flip side, models with high maintenance costs, aging demand bases, or excessive supply—like complex track cars, modern muscle variants, or pre-war sedans—are seeing weaker performance and often struggle to meet reserves.
Looking ahead, expect analog, driver-focused classics to stay in demand as they remain the natural entry point for new collectors. But with such thin trading in many segments, values will remain sensitive to individual sales—creating both opportunity and volatility.
*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.
** 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.