Explorer prices remain depressed. With under 100 being available you might expect them to attract a better price [HAI give price ranges in the order of $1.7M to $2.7M] when compared to the more numerous alternatives [the same source gives EC135 in the range of $2.5M to $3.25M and the 109 Power $2.9 to $4.5N] but clearly the availability factor continues to bite hard.
It seems strange that the other thread current at the moment relating to S92 and AW139 aircraft availability rates [CHC complaining publicly about low introductory availability rates] is not causing the same furore that attended the disclosure of MD900 rates in the same league! Obviously each draws their Ppruners from a very different fanatic base!
When Yorkshire AA bought their Explorer recently they appeared to pay top $$ but that was still apparently too low for the aspirations of such as London HEMS.
Although West Mids Police have publicly declared they are hanging on to their 900 and indicated that it is to be used as a back up it is pretty much public knowledge that price is a factor. You just cannot sell at the prices you can get when you may well have to then explain a terrific loss. And that is an organisation that saw the writing on the wall a long time ago and wrote off the airframe in financial terms long before ordering another machine. Equally the second aircraft [the reorder] for GMP may well have to hang around at Barton until values move upward.
Because Kent are pulling the strings in Kent/Surrey/Sussex it can be assumed that their preference will be for the 900. However with the numbers of good second hand 900s being low they may well start their extended operations with other more cost efficient types while JAROPS allows them to [355/105] but despite the ex-police types mentioned above I am not aware of many 900s being available in the UK.