"Montblack" wrote
I keep hearing "the market for Light Twins is soft."

Soft really isn't the right word. Nonexistent is more like it.

Are used Light Twins not selling these days, or are they selling for
what some would consider "bargain" prices, or both?

The ones that are selling are going for bargain prices. Mostly
they're simply not selling, since most owners are simply not willing
to take a beating. Those who have high quality light twins and can
afford to keep them are mostly just keeping them.

Did the economy's shake-up knock quite a few people out of the Twin
tree - people who were just barely holding on, "before" the shake-up?

Yes, some of that is going on. Those are the twins that are selling
for bargain prices. They're no bargain. The people who were just
barely holding on were the same ones skimping on maintenance. With
money tight and a plan to sell, you can be certain that anything that
could possibly be deferred was deferred, regarless of long-term
consequences. The economy has been in the crapper for over two years
now. The owners who are willing to sell at a bargain price are the
same ones who have been getting pencilwhip annuals for the last two
years or more.

You might also manage to get a bargain if someone is trading up - but
right now, very few light twin owners are trading up. In fact, most
are looking to trade down. It doesn't help that a huge fraction of
light twin owners are airline captains, and they're more worried about
their financial future than most.

Then there are the trainers. With flight training (especially foreign
student training) in the crapper since 9/11, flight schools aren't
buying. Not really a factor when you're looking at the 250+ hp/side
class of twin, but a huge deal in the under-200 hp/side market.

Michael