The RV-12 market this morning
What does a used RV-12 ask right now?
With 15 for sale this morning, the Van's RV-12 is the 22nd most-listed piston type on Barnstormers and second to the Van's RV-6 among Van's types. 12 were listed in the last 30 days and 18 came down, a faster churn than the experimental and kit average. FL and CA have 3 each.
Asking prices run from $6,000 to $165,000, and half of the 14 priced listings sit between $72,000 and $119,500. The median is $87,250, 27% below the experimental and kit median of $119,500; 5 of the 7 Van's types here ask more. Age matters: 2010s airframes ask a median of $88,500 against $142,500 for the 2020s.
10 sellers cut price in the last 30 days, 67% of the live fleet against 27% across every type we track; the average cut took 11% off the ask. That is the highest cut rate of any Van's type here right now. Of the RV-12s we watched appear, half came down within 31 days.
Set against every other type, the RV-12 also appears in our note on which models get their price cut most often, with the sample behind each figure.
Written from this morning's figures and how they compare with the other types on the site. It changes as the market does.
Asking price distribution
Asking prices as typed by the seller. "Call" and "make offer" are counted as unpriced.
Median asking by decade
| Built | Seen | Median ask | Cut rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16 | $88,500 | 44% |
| 2020s | 6 | $142,500 | 33% |
Year is read from the seller's title, so 54% of RV-12 listings don't have one. They count everywhere else on this page but not in this table.
Be first to the next RV-12 that lists or drops
One Telegram message the morning a RV-12 appears in your budget, and another the day a seller cuts, with days listed and where the ask sits against these 15. Free during beta.
Buyer's notes
About the Van's RV-12
What it is
The RV-12 is the light-sport member of the Van's line, a side-by-side, low-wing, tricycle-gear two-seater that first flew in 2006 and was designed from the start to meet the light-sport weight and speed limits. It is aluminum with pulled rivets and matched holes, and the wings pull off in a few minutes for trailering or sharing a hangar. Power is a Rotax 912, either the carbureted 912ULS of about 100 horsepower or, in the RV-12iS, the fuel-injected 912iS. It cruises with the certified two-seat trainers and burns less fuel doing it.
What sets it apart from most homebuilts is how it can be licensed. It was sold as an E-LSA kit, meaning you build exactly to the plans and get a certificate that lets an owner with a short repairman course do the annual condition inspection. It has also been sold as a factory-built S-LSA and can be finished as a standard amateur-built. It flies like a mild RV: light controls, gentle stalls and a big canopy. Owners praise the fuel burn and the factory support, and they note that it is a handful in a strong wind.
Variants that matter for price
Sellers write RV-12, RV-12iS, and then E-LSA, S-LSA or E-AB. The iS, introduced in the late 2010s, is more than an engine change: it brought a revised fuel system, a stronger gear, a larger baggage area and an updated panel, and it can also be built with the 912ULS. An iS with the 912iS engine is the combination that sells fastest. An S-LSA example can be flown by a sport pilot, rented and used for instruction, so it draws a different buyer than an E-AB build. Panels are Dynon or Garmin glass with an autopilot in most examples. The registration category is worth more than the paint.
What buyers check
Rotax care is the first question. The rubber hose replacement runs on a calendar, the gearbox needs its inspection at the hour interval, and the carbureted engine wants its carbs synchronized. On the airframe, look at the stabilator hinge and its bearings, the nose gear fork and leg for wear, and the wing attach pins and quick-connects for damage from wings coming off and on. The factory publishes a service bulletin list for the type, and good sellers keep a checklist showing each one done. An E-LSA airplane that has been modified away from the plans can lose its category, so confirm that any changes were done under the rules. Damage history is usually a hard landing on the nose gear.
Who it suits
The RV-12 fits a sport pilot or a private pilot who wants a modern, cheap-to-run two-seater for local flying and day trips, and who values being able to do their own maintenance. It is not an aerobatic airplane, not a load hauler, and not the one for a windy mountain strip. Buyers cross-shop it against a Sling 2, a Tecnam P2008, a Flight Design CT and, among kits, a Sonex or a Zenith CH 650.
How much does a used Van's RV-12 cost?
Asking prices on Barnstormers this morning run from $6,000 to $165,000, and the median is $87,250. The middle half of the 14 priced listings sit between $72,000 and $119,500. These are asking prices, not sale prices.
How many Van's RV-12s are for sale right now?
15 on Barnstormers as of Oct 18, 2026. 12 were listed in the last 30 days and 18 came down. PlaneSnipe has tracked 50 since Jul 19, 2026.
How long does a Van's RV-12 take to sell?
Half of the RV-12 listings we watched appear came down within 31 days. Delisted is not the same as sold; the ad may have expired or been relisted.
How often do Van's RV-12 sellers cut the price?
10 price cuts in the last 30 days against 15 live listings, averaging 11% off the previous ask. Cuts are logged when the asking price drops between two consecutive mornings.
Last 30 days
Which RV-12 sellers cut their price in the last 30 days?
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Vans RV-12 For SaleOct 14 | AZ | 30 d | $67,000$65,000−3% |
| Vans RV-12Oct 11 | MI | 30 d | $80,000$75,000−6% |
| 2013 RV12 ElsaOct 7 | OH | 24 d | $79,000$77,000−3% |
| Aero Momentum RV12 KitsOct 7 | TX | 20 d | $7,000$5,000−29% |
| 2013 RV12 ElsaOct 1 | OH | 24 d | $82,000$79,000−4% |
| 2023 Vans Aircraft Inc RV-12ISOct 1 | TX | 18 d | $160,000$154,900−3% |
| 2013 RV12 ElsaSep 25 | OH | 24 d | $84,000$82,000−2% |
| 2011 Vans RV-12 E-lsaSep 24 | MA | 90 d | $75,000$72,000−4% |
| RV12IS Built Amateur AircraftSep 21 | TX | 80 d | $76,000$40,000−47% |
| RV-12 Slsa Factory Built, 2014Sep 20 | TN | 91 d | $129,500$124,500−4% |
For sale now
Which RV-12s are for sale right now?
Newest first. Days listed is counted from the morning we first saw the ad; listings that predate Jul 19, 2026 show the day we started watching.
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Cuts | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RV-12 Tail Kit | OR | 0 d | – | $6,000 |
| RV 12 Experimental | FL | 15 d | – | $85,000 |
| Low Time RV12 | N909RV | TX | 17 d | – | see ad |
| 2023 Vans Aircraft Inc RV-12IS | TX | 18 d | 1 | $154,900 |
| Vans RV12 Slsa | FL | 19 d | – | $119,500 |
| RV-12 Project | TX | 22 d | – | $30,000 |
| 2013 RV12 Elsa | OH | 24 d | 3 | $77,000 |
| 2015 Vans RV-12 | CA | 26 d | – | $89,500 |
| Vans RV12 S-lsa | CA | 28 d | – | $105,000 |
| 2026 Van’s RV-12IS E-lsa | FL | 29 d | – | $165,000 |
| Vans RV-12 | MI | 30 d | 1 | $75,000 |
| 2010 Vans RV-12 For Sale | AZ | 30 d | 1 | $65,000 |
| 2015 Vans RV12 | CA | 75 d | 1 | $124,000 |
| 2011 Vans RV-12 E-lsa | MA | 90 d | 2 | $72,000 |
| RV-12 Slsa Factory Built, 2014 | TN | 91 d | 1 | $124,500 |
Cross-shop
What else does a RV-12 buyer look at?
Other Van's types with a page here, then the same class at a similar asking price.
Geography and method
Where are the RV-12s, and how are they counted?
Where they are
How we count
Barnstormers piston categories are read once a day. A listing is "delisted" after it is missing on two consecutive mornings. Days listed starts the morning we first saw the ad, so listings that predate Jul 19, 2026 are excluded from time-on-market figures. Prices are asking prices as typed by the seller. Nothing here is an appraisal. Full methodology.