August 2021 Resale Volume Continues To Decrease

Data from private sale deeds transfers in August 2021 show resale median pricing rising for resorts by $1-3 per point or 1-2% in general.

Median prices represent the midpoint of all transfer values for each resort and period in question. Transactions occurred at rates both higher and lower than the median, as illustrated in the chart below.

Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge reversed the $1 per point reduction from June to July and increased by $5 per point from $110 per point to $115 per point.  Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa also had a more significant price increase of $6 per point from $125 per point to $131 per point, likely related to the recent increase in direct pricing. Disney's BoardWalk Villas and Disney's Beach Club Villas had $5 per point and $1 per point reductions in median resale pricing driven by varying contract sizes and no structural reductions in value.

Resale prices for Disney’s Riviera Resort continue to fluctuate. Useful conclusions remain elusive with only 46 total contracts sold in 2021, seven of those during the month of July.

In total, 65k points across 437 private sale deeds were recorded in August 2021 with the Orange County (FL) Comptroller, a decrease of 23% from June. This number is significantly lower than the 138k direct points sold in August for the same resorts.

Disney Vacation Development’s buyback activity in August suggests the maximum buyback price increased by $4 per point at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge to $154 per point after increasing by $10 per point in July.  Disney's Old Key West Resort and Saratoga Springs also increased by $2 per point and $8 per point respectively, likely related to the higher resale prices and ongoing buyback activity.  Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows had no recorded buybacks in August after two months of buybacks.  The remaining resorts had decreases in maximum buyback prices from July that would be expected with the reduction in buyback volume.  Buyback volume was down overall by 73% to 9.5k points with Old Key West and Saratoga Springs  having the most significant decreases in activity from 9.9k points to 3.4k points and from 13.2k points to 3.2k points respectively.

Exercising its Right of First Refusal to buy back points can be a profitable venture for DVD. As the above price range data illustrates, DVD is frequently able to reacquire points for under $110 each at resorts like Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas and BoardWalk. Disney then sells the points to new buyers, with published prices currently $186 each for Animal Kingdom and $210 for BoardWalk.

Old Key West remains a target of buybacks with DVD exercising its Right of First Refusal on a significant portion of recorded sales (49% of recorded points) for a maximum price of $110 USD per point. However, the number of buyback points at Old Key West has decreased from the peak of 12k points in April 2021.  Across all Walt Disney World resorts, 13% of points (9.5k points across 55 buyback deeds) were recorded in August 2021. In the case of Old Key West, Disney is able to re-acquire contracts slated to end in 2042 and bundle them with the resort’s 15-year extension.

The price range data at the top also includes listing prices (green). Listing prices generally outpace prior sales but ultimately buyer interest will dictate market value.

Disney Vacation Development’s buyback activity currently outpaces direct sales for at least two resorts: BoardWalk and Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. In 2021, DVD has reacquired 24k at BoardWalk and 31k at Bay Lake Tower. Direct sales at those two resorts totaled 14k, and 23k respectively from January to August 2021.

Previously, Old Key West buybacks had been outpacing direct sales.  Above average direct point sales in June, July, and August (20k, 25k, and 16k points respectively) have placed total 2021 direct sales at 95k points which is now above 2021 buybacks at 71k points.

At dvc.market, there are resources including additional market data, pricing regression analysis, and a DVC listing search engine--featuring 12 well established brokers who specialize in Disney Vacation Club timeshare ownership transfers.

Chris Dantès is a contributor to DVCNews.com and has been a Disney Vacation Club owner since 2020 at Disney's Riviera Resort. You can find Chris posting on many Disney forums under the username i<3riviera.