Buying a used Balance: a young builder with a China-then-South-Africa production history
A used Balance is a bet on a young, still-consolidating South African builder rather than on decades of institutional record — the company is little more than a decade old, and its own history includes a production relationship its founder chose to leave behind. Phillip Berman built Balance's first boats on the other side of the world, in China, before relocating the whole operation to South Africa, where the brand's current designs and construction now all originate. For a used buyer, which yard and which era of the Berman/du Toit design partnership built a given hull says as much about what to expect as the model name does.
Which era to target
The clearest dividing line in the used market is the one Berman drew himself: hulls that came out of the brand's original South China facility, in Guandong City under chief builder Lee Xinxiang — the 451, whose design paired Berman with New Zealand naval architect Roger Hill, among them — versus everything built since in South Africa. On the South African side, the 526 (2016) came first, built by Jonathan Paarman's Nexus Yachts in St Francis Bay. The 482 (2020) and 442 (2021) — both built at Balance Catamarans Cape Town under Mark Delany — followed as more cost-contained variants; the conversations between Berman and du Toit that shaped the 442 as a smaller, lower-priced companion to the 526 date back to 2019. The 580 (2024) is the most recent addition to the range.
What to inspect across the range
Construction differs by model rather than following one brand-wide standard, and that difference should shape a survey. The 526 is built in full epoxy resin with heavy carbon reinforcement; the 442 and 482 instead use a polyester inner-skin over a vinylester outer-skin — a swap the builder has described as a deliberate cost-containment choice, since epoxy costs roughly four times as much — so don't assume one hull's resin system, or its aging and blister risk, carries over to a different model built in the same yard. On an early 526 specifically, ask about passageway width: SAIL Magazine's review noted the builder's plans to widen the passageway on hulls built after the ones it tested.
Navigating the lineup
Models run from the 44-foot 442 up through the 58-foot 580, with the 482 and 526 filling out the middle and upper end of the range. A buyer is usually better served by choosing a build era and yard first — Guandong-built versus South African, St Francis Bay versus Cape Town — and only then comparing sizes on the full model directory on this page.
Where they're listed
Balance listings appear across 9 countries. United States has the most listings with 42 (59.2%), followed by Grenada and Italy.
Country view
71 listings · 9 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $1,475,000 | 42 | 13 | 59.2% |
| Grenada | $1,570,000 | 7 | 3 | 9.9% |
| Italy | $1,134,000 | 5 | 0 | 7.0% |
| Spain | $1,375,000 | 4 | 1 | 5.6% |
| Montenegro | $2,100,000 | 4 | 4 | 5.6% |
| South Africa | $1,599,000 | 3 | 0 | 4.2% |
| Fiji | $425,000 | 2 | 2 | 2.8% |
| French Polynesia | $1,549,000 | 2 | 2 | 2.8% |
| British Virgin Islands | $1,250,000 | 2 | 0 | 2.8% |
All Balance models
3 models grouped by length overall. Open any model to see recent asking prices and active listings.