DVC Right of First Refusal Report (ROFR): July ’19 Report

Monorail at Bay Lake Tower

Year-to-date (YTD), Disney has exercised their right of first refusal (ROFR) on 477 Disney Vacation Club (DVC) contracts, and DVC Resale Market (DVCRM) has sold 2,355, resulting in a 20.3% buy back rate (Contracts Bought Back YTD / Contracts Sold YTD). The year-to-date waiver rate is 79.7%.

Highest Monthly Buy Back Numbers by DVC Resort

In 2019, Disney buy backs through ROFR that were submitted by DVCRM have focused on only 8 DVC Resorts. Those resorts include: Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom, Bay Lake Tower, Beach Club, Old Key West, Boardwalk, Grand Floridian and Hilton Head.  Observationally, the focus of buy backs have shifted less away from point availability (i.e., points banked, current and borrowed) as well.  In previous years it would not be uncommon to have months where over 70% of the buy backs were contracts with high point availability, however, in 2019 that correlation has not been observed.

Given the focus seems to be on certain resorts and price per point, we put together a table below showing the highest price per point buy back for each resort for each month in 2019.  What was striking was the consistency.  For each resort, none of the monthly high buy back numbers had a variance greater than 10% from another month with the exception of Hilton Head.

As a buyer, you may not like how high some of the buy back numbers are, but the good news is this table provides some consistency for setting expectations of what may happen.  For example, based on this table if you are purchasing an Animal Kingdom contract for $113/pt. or lower, there are obvious chances of a buy back.  However, if you were to purchase an Animal Kingdom contract at $114/pt. or higher, the chances of a buy back are likely slim as Disney has not purchased back an Animal Kingdom contract at that price in 2019 from DVCRM (sample size 382). Granted, there is still no guarantee of not having a contract bought back.  Even purchasing an Animal Kingdom contract at $114/pt. doesn’t mean a new threshold cannot be set, but given the consistency shown in the table below, I would take this data as strong directional information.

Highest Buy back Price Per Point by Resort for 2019

Monthly High Buy Backs for January through July of 2019

It is important to note that Aulani, Boulder Ridge, Copper Creek, Grand Californian, Polynesian, and Vero Beach continue to go untouched for buy backs in 2019.

What is Right of First Refusal (ROFR)?

For those new to the concept of Right of First Refusal, it is the option Disney Vacation Club has to purchase any resale contract after a sales price has been agreed upon, and the contract has been executed. Each contract must be forwarded to DVC for review.

DVC typically takes no more than 30 days to review the contract. At their discretion, Disney may step in and purchase the property themselves at the terms agreed upon by the Seller and original Buyer. DVC then becomes the Buyer, and the purchase is complete. Once DVC is the buyer there is not an opportunity to come back with a better offer in hopes of still purchasing the contract.

Disney Vacation Club Resort Contracts Bought Back in 2019

Please refer to the graph below for the total amount of buybacks at each DVC resort for contracts sold by DVC Resale Market YTD in 2019:

Number of contracts Disney exercised ROFR on sold by DVC Resale Market year-to-date July 2019

Summary on DVC Buybacks in July

The selling price range and volume summary for all buybacks in July:

Resort Selling Price Per Point Range of Buy Backs in July Number of Buy Backs in July
Animal Kingdom $97 – $113 15
Bay Lake Tower $134 – $142 6
Beach Club $140 – $145 2
Boardwalk $119 – $121 2
Hilton Head $68 – $69 2
Old Key West $86 – $95 12
Saratoga Springs $80 – $102 23

 

Buyback Rates for Disney Vacation Club Resorts

The table below shows the percentage of buybacks for all 8 different resorts for January through July of 2019. Note, the buyback rate for Aulani, Boulder Ridge, Copper Creek, Grand Californian, Polynesian and Vero Beach in 2019 has been 0%.

Resort Buy Backs Number Sold Percentage Bought Back
Animal Kingdom 117 382 31%
Bay Lake Tower 77 223 35%
Beach Club 45 126 36%
Boardwalk 24 163 15%
Grand Floridian 20 143 14%
Hilton Head 16 46 35%
Old Key West 40 162 25%
Saratoga Springs 131 523 25%

 

Access all DVC resale listings and learn more about buying and selling with DVC Resale Market.

Comments

  • Emery
    August 17, 2019

    Love these as well!

    I’ve noticed on a popular forum that “stripped” or partially “stripped” contracts seem to have a higher risk of buy-back for the last two months. Have you observed that as well? If so, why do you think that is?

    • Nick Cotton
      August 17, 2019

      Emery – what we have observed this year are two strong correlations for buy backs: resort and price. I think the fact that they are “stripped” is more happenstance because typically “stripped” contracts sell for lower prices. If a “loaded” contract for the same resort, same price is out there, I think its just as likely to be bought back as the “stripped” contract.

  • Barry Sauls
    August 13, 2019

    With no buy backs on resorts like Poly and Grand Cal, are we witnessing pure market forces in the resale prices for these resorts? There is no “floor” so to speak in the absence of buy backs.

    • Nick Cotton
      August 13, 2019

      Barry – yes, ROFR has had no influence over Polynesian since inception (zero buy backs from DVCRM) and very little influence on Grand Cal as the buy backs for Grand Cal have always been historically low and nonexistent this year.

  • John Barlow
    August 7, 2019

    Thank you for posting these monthly. Its really helping us as we prepare to buy a resale contract. This and the Most Economical Resort report you put out are fantastic! I was wondering if ANY contracts have gone through BELOW the highest buyback price points in the chart. Do you have any data on that? It’s also interesting that an increase or decrease varies across the board – one resort was able to sell for less one month while another required a higher price during the same month.

    • Nick Cotton
      August 7, 2019

      John, I’m glad you are getting some assistance through our blogs. To answer your question, yes, there are contracts that are sold under the highest buy back point that do pass. Our intention with the blog is to provide quick directional information on where you are likely to begin a risk of buy back. If you would like, please feel free to contact us and based on what you are considering buying one of our agents can go over specific contracts that did and did not pass through ROFR.

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