What a potential buyer is looking for on the dealership lot or website is noticeably aligned with what buyers in the lanes are searching for at the auction.

The ongoing scenario might be really that simple, based on analysis included in the newest installment of Market Insights from Black Book.

The report noted that overall wholesale prices decreased 0.45% last week and the auction conversion rate dipped 1 percentage point from the previous week to land at 56%.

“Auction activity remained selective, with the strongest demand centered on clean, late-model passenger cars and hybrid/electrified vehicles, while mainstream SUVs, crossovers, and pickups continued to face pricing pressure,” analysts said in the report, while mentioning the slight softening in the auction conversion rate is “reflecting slightly softer buyer participation amid continued pricing pressure.”

Black Book reiterated its estimated used retail days to turn is still at roughly 34 days.

“Auction results showed that buyers are no longer assigning value broadly by model year, segment, or mileage alone,” analysts said. “Pricing varied significantly within the same vehicle categories, with lower-miles, late-model crossovers, pickups, and SUVs selling at average, rough, or below-rough book values.

“Meanwhile, selecting specialty trucks, high-content luxury vehicles, and individual crossover models continued to command premium prices, highlighting a widening gap between vehicles with strong retail demand and those facing softer interest,” Black Book added.

So, is the car business really that simple nowadays? Well, perhaps not, but wholesale value movements of some specific segments also showed:

—After 10 weeks of depreciating at a slower pace than the overall market, analysts noticed depreciation in the luxury car segment accelerated to 0.61% last week, marking its largest single-week price decline since November.

—Following 11 consecutive weeks of price declines, sub-compact cars less than 2 years old generated a “modest” 0.15% value gain.

—Like their car counterparts, values for sub-compact crossovers less than 2 years old also posted a “modest” gain last week, rising 0.12%.

—Depreciation for compact crossovers more than doubled from week to week, as Black Book said it went from 0.31% to 0.68%.

The next edition of Market Insights will look at how July finished in the lanes, with Black Book pledging, “As always, our team of analysts are focused on keeping their eyes on the market for developing trends and gathering insights.”