Used van values fell for the second month running in August, according to auctioneers BCA. The firm said that rising volumes of used stock hitting the market pushed down the average sale price marginally, from £5,544 in July to £5,507 in August.

What’s interesting to me here is not so much the price change, which is probably insignificant, but confirmation that the recovery in the new van market is generating a flood of used vans and dampening down seconday market conditions.

Here’s how the figures looked compared to this point last year (not July):

(Data courtesy of BCA)

The year-on-year picture is more telling and suggests the used market may be returning to normality. Both average age and mileage are down, but so is the average value. Around a year ago we were seeing the opposite — used prices were rising despite rising age and mileage.

Commenting on the figures, BCA’s Head of Commercial Vehicles, Duncan Ward, said:

“We commented earlier this year that values were likely to come under pressure over the summer months, as a result of rising volumes, an increase in poor condition vehicles and the strong new van market.”

“With the benefit of hindsight we can also now see how the shortage of retail quality stock, combined with the rising demand for LCVs as the economy improved, pushed average prices up over an extended period. Average values climbed steadily throughout 2012, 2013 and 2014, with month-on-month and year-on-year growth becoming the norm.”

“Of course, that was never going to be sustainable indefinitely, and we are now seeing the return of more typical market conditions with balanced supply and demand and elements of seasonality taking effect. The good news is that the market has maintained relatively strong average values across the board and there is plenty of interest from buyers for well presented, good quality commercial vehicles.”

In other words, trees don’t grow to reach the sky, and the used van maret is now coming back to earth, albeit fairly gently. Good news all round, I think.