DVC Right of First Refusal Report (ROFR): March 2023

DVC Exercises Right of First Refusal (ROFR)

Year-to-date (YTD), Disney has exercised their right of first refusal (ROFR) on 4 Disney Vacation Club (DVC) contracts, and DVC Resale Market (DVCRM) has sold 1,416, resulting in a 0.3% buyback rate (Contracts Bought Back in 2023/Contracts Sold in 2023). The 2023 waiver rate is 99.7%.

Key ROFR Updates

I think it is pretty safe to say buyers got the message last month that the ROFR monster was asleep at the wheel, and now is the time to buy! March 2023 saw Disney continue its streak of no buybacks.  For comparison, we had already seen 244 buybacks by March 2022.

While this metric is staggering, I’ll offer up some data that is even more alarming and may point to a shift in the DVC resale market in the relatively near future.

Another key identifier we watch very closely is active inventory or “listings,” as any large shift in supply can impact DVC resale prices just as much as ROFR does.  At its highest earlier this year, the DVC Resale Market had over 800 active listings.  Today, that number sits at just above 500, showing a more than 35% decrease in inventory in just a few months. What’s the reasoning, you might ask? It is likely the high buyer demand coupled with some sellers choosing to wait versus selling now – but neither of these is the alarming fact.  IF Disney were to begin resuming buybacks at a level equal to the volume we saw last year, market inventory could quickly dry up, signaling an immediate turn.  This could quickly send these numbers plummeting to 150-200 active listings, which would return more balance to the resale market and increase prices.

The million-dollar question is when DVC will make that decision.  If it turns out to be tomorrow and you waited too long to buy, don’t say you weren’t warned!

What is Right of First Refusal (ROFR)?

For those new to the concept, Right of First Refusal 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.

Highest Monthly Buy Back Numbers by DVC Resort

Highest Buyback Price Per Point by Resort from March 2022 to March 2023:

Disney Vacation Club Resort Resale Contracts Bought Back in 2023

The graph below shows the total amount of buybacks at each DVC resort for contracts sold by DVC Resale Market in 2023:

Buy Back Rates for Disney Vacation Club Resorts in 2023

The table below shows the percentage of buybacks for the resorts that have had at least one contract bought back in 2023. Note, there have been no buybacks of the following resorts in 2023: Aulani, Grand Californian, Riviera Resort, Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Animal Kingdom, Bay Lake Tower, Beach Club, Boardwalk, Boulder Ridge, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Vero Beach, and Hilton Head.

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