Despite some rather gloomy predictions from many collector car market observers, the results from 2007 Mecum Bloomington Gold High Performance auction, held this past June 15-17, continue to demonstrate that this season’s market is indeed a healthy one. It appears that buyers and sellers have found common ground and both have added a more realistic approach to their strategies. The result has been a market similar to the 2004-2005 period, where prices were strong but not unrealistically high. This year, a total of 294 Corvettes were entered in Mecum’s Bloomington Gold auction. Of those, 145 sold for a total of $8,255,306, for an overall sales of 49 percent.   

“The Corvette market is back in the hands of the enthusiasts,” said Dana Mecum, president of Mecum Auctions. “The truth is, the market has settled a bit, but it didn’t crash by any means. The speculators have moved on to other areas. Corvette owners understand that these are cars that hold their value as a whole, better than most makes and models. Prices are now where they were in ’04 and ’05, which is a realistic level.” He added that, “Great cars are still appreciating at a rapid rate. Good cars are not appreciating as quickly right now.”   

The top selling car at Bloomington this year was a Bloomington Gold certified 1967 427/435 convertible that had been in the Roby Price collection. It sold for a very respectable $467,250. Other exceptional examples of the breed also enjoyed enthusiastic bidding and brought strong prices. Of particular note was a block of six ultra-low mileage 1990-1995 Corvette ZR-1s (one for each year of production) that sold for a whopping $362,250.      

Though the top ten cars sold represented more than 21.8 percent of the total event tally, there was tremendous activity in all price segments. Out of the 295 Corvettes that crossed the auction block, 59 sold for $35,000 or less, meaning that there was a lot of action on the part of buyers looking for daily usable collectibles. This proves that the Corvette market is vibrant and has a broad spectrum, from the entry level to the investment grade. Prices listed below include auction fees.   

The 2007 Mecum Bloomington Top Ten:  

 S67          1967 427/435 “Roby Price” convertible - $467,250  

S63          1963 Corvette Z06 Big Tank - $367,500  

S91          1953 Corvette #107 - $296,625

S53          1953 Corvette #210 - $283,500  

S55          1955 Corvette - $178,500  

S125        1957 Corvette Fuel Injection - $157,500  

S32          1957 “Brent Ferguson” Corvette 283/250 F.I. - $152,250  

S122        1963 Corvette Z06 Small Tank - $139,650  

S114        1967 Corvette coupe - $136,500  

S46          1967 Corvette convertible - $136,500   

For more information, log onto http://www.mecumauctions.com.

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