January 2022 Resale Cools, 2042 Resort Remain Buyback Targets

Median private resale prices were flat to down in January across most resorts.  Prices vary month to month due to a variety of factors including contract size which may have contributed to this trend.  The one exception was Disney's Beach Club Villas which returned to its November pricing level after a decline in December.

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.

Resale prices for Disney’s Riviera Resort continue to fluctuate. Useful conclusions remain elusive with only 79 total contracts sold in 2021 and 9 in January 2022.  The long range resale value of Riviera is unlikely to be settled anytime in the near future.

In total, 60k points across 434 private sale deeds were recorded in January 2022 with the Orange County (FL) Comptroller, an increase of 18% over the prior month. This number was lower than the 124k direct points sold for the same resorts.

Disney Vacation Development’s buyback activity in December suggests the maximum buyback price was flat to up across all resorts.  All four resorts expiring in 2042 maintained their maximum buyback price after significant increases in December 2021.

Buyback volume increased overall by 6% to 51k points.  The biggest individual changes in buyback volume were focused at three of the four 2042 resorts: Disney's BoardWalk Villas with a 40% increase to 4.3k points, Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge with a 68% increase to 4.1k points, and Disney's Beach Club Resort with a 184% increase to 4.0k points.  Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge also saw a significant increase of buyback volume, a 105% increase to 4.3k points.  Disney's Old Key West Resort saw a reduction in buyback volume by 31% to 7.8k points after significant increases in volume in 4Q 2021.

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 up to $230 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 (75% of recorded points) for a maximum price of $133 per point.  The other 2042 resorts saw 52% to 64% of their recorded volume as buybacks.  Across all Walt Disney World resorts, 46% of points (51k points across 281 buyback deeds) were recorded in January 2022. 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 outpaced direct sales for four resorts in January 2022: Old Key West, Boulder Ridge, Beach Club, and Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort. In the first month of 2022, DVD reacquired 7.8k points at Old Key West, 4.1k points at Boulder Ridge, 4.0k points at Beach Club, and 16.6k points at Saratoga Springs. Direct sales at those three resorts totaled 4.9k, 0.6k, 1.0k, and 5.7k points respectively in January 2022.

At dvc.market, there are resources including additional market data, pricing regression analysis, and a DVC listing search engine--featuring 13 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