DVC Right of First Refusal (ROFR): May ’18 Report
In the month of May, Disney exercised their right of first refusal (ROFR) on 31 of 228 Disney Vacation Club (DVC) contracts sold through the DVC Resale Market, representing 13.6% of the contracts sold. The waiver rate for May was 86.4%. At 13.6%, May 2018 represented the highest buy back rate since February 2017, which saw a buy back rate of 14.8%.
For a fifth consecutive month, May showed an increase in the buy back rate. Overall, May raised the year-to-date buy back rate to 8.4%, which remains ahead of where both 2016 (4.4%) and 2017 (6.9%) ended. The year-to-date waiver rate is now lowered to 91.6%.
The chart below shows the relationship between the average selling price per point and the buy back rate from May 2017 through May 2018. Prices rose sharply in 2017, and in 2018 with exception of Grand Californian, Grand Floridian and Polynesian, prices have remained relatively flat. Historically, we have seen an inverse relationship with selling price per point and buy back rate, however in 2018, despite prices remaining fairly steady, the buy back rate has continued to increase each month.
What is Right of First Refusal?
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 may take up to 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 2018
Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom and Old Key West remain the focus of buy backs in 2018. It is notable that while 20 Bay Lake Tower contracts were bought back in 2017, there has been none thus far in 2018.
Boardwalk, which is a resort that has historically been on the buy back radar, made an impact on the May report with 3 out of 8 contracts sold being bought back. This represented a nearly 40% buy back rate for Boardwalk, the highest among all resorts for May.
Please refer to the graph below for the total amount of buy backs at each DVC resort for contracts sold by DVC Resale Market through the month of May in 2018:
Details on DVC Buybacks
In May, DVC Resale Market had buy backs of Animal Kingdom, Boardwalk, Hilton Head, Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. Saratoga Springs led all resorts for buy backs in May with 14, followed by Animal Kingdom with 8.
Details on the contracts bought back in May are below:
| Resort | $/Point | Pts. on Contract | Price | Closing Costs Paid by | ’18 Dues Paid by | Use Year | Point Availability |
| Animal Kingdom | $103 | 250 | $25,750 | Buyer | Seller | Dec. | 0 pts.’18 + 250 pts.’19 |
| Animal Kingdom | $102 | 200 | $20,400 | Buyer | Buyer | Sept. | 200 pts.’18 + 200 pts.’19 |
| Animal Kingdom | $99 | 160 | $15,840 | Buyer | Seller | Jun. | 320 pts.’19 + 0 pts.’19 |
| Animal Kingdom | $103 | 210 | $21,630 | Buyer | Seller | Dec. | 0 pts.’18 + 250 pts.’19 |
| Animal KIngdom | $101 | 160 | $16,160 | Buyer | Pro-Rate | Dec. | 47 pts.’18 + 160 pts.’19 |
| Animal KIngdom | $98 | 210 | $20,580 | Buyer | Seller | Dec. | 0 pts.’18 + 210 pts.’19 |
| Animal Kingdom | $103 | 220 | $22,660 | Buyer | Pro-Rate | Oct. | 155 pts.’18 + 220 pts.’19 |
| Animal Kingdom | $101 | 270 | $27,270 | Buyer | Buyer | Dec. | 270 pts.’18 + 270 pts.’19 |
| Boardwalk | $107 | 350 | $37,450 | Buyer | Seller | Feb. | 0 pts.’18 + 350 pts.’19 |
| Boardwalk | $108 | 280 | $30,240 | Buyer | Seller | Aug. | 0 pts.’18 + 280 pts.’19 |
| Boardwalk | $110 | 210 | $23,100 | Buyer | Seller | Mar. | 0 pts.’18 + 210 pts.’19 |
| Hilton Head | $70 | 150 | $10,500 | Buyer | Seller | Apr. | 0 pts.’18 + 150 pts.’19 |
| Old Key West | $89 | 230 | $20,470 | Buyer | Buyer | Dec. | 230 pts.’18 + 230 pts.’19 |
| Old Key West | $82 | 210 | $17,220 | Buyer | Seller | Jun. | 0 pts. ’18 + 210 pts. ’19 |
| Old Key West | $84 | 270 | $22,680 | Buyer | Seller | Oct. | 0 pts.’18 + 270 pts.’19 |
| Old Key West | $85 | 200 | $17,000 | Buyer | Seller | Feb. | 0 pts.’18 + 200 pts.’19 |
| Old Key West | $81 | 250 | $20,250 | Buyer | Seller | Feb. | 0 pts.’18 + 250 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $93 | 150 | $13,913 | Buyer | Seller | Apr. | 0 pts.’18 + 150 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $94 | 150 | $14,100 | Buyer | Seller | Apr. | 0 pts.’18 + 150 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $90 | 200 | $18,000 | Buyer | Pro-Rate | Dec. | 36 pts.’18 + 200 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $89 | 270 | $24,030 | Buyer | Pro-Rate | Mar. | 174 pts.’18 + 270 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $95 | 150 | $14,250 | Buyer | Seller | Oct. | 2 pts.’18 + 150 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $92 | 160 | $14,720 | Buyer | Pro-Rate | Jun. | 77 pts.’18 + 160 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $95 | 210 | $19,950 | Buyer | Seller | Aug. | 0 pts.’18 + 210 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $91 | 220 | $20,020 | Buyer | Seller | Jun. | 0 pts.’18 + 220 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $89 | 300 | $26,700 | Buyer | Pro-Rate | Dec. | 125 pts.’18 + 300 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $95 | 160 | $15,200 | Buyer | Seller | Feb. | 160 pts.’18 + 160 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $88 | 300 | $26,400 | Buyer | Seller | Jun. | 0 pts.’18 + 300 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $93 | 350 | $32,550 | Buyer | Seller | Sept. | 202 pts.’18 + 350 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $95 | 235 | $22,325 | Seller | Seller | Oct. | 9 pts. ’18 + 235 pts.’19 |
| Saratoga Springs | $97 | 250 | $24,250 | Buyer | Seller | Jun. | 0 pts.’18 + 250 pts.’19 |
Buy Back Rates for Disney Vacation Club Resorts
The table below shows the percentage of buy backs for all 5 different resorts purchased back in May:
| Resort | Buy Backs | Number Sold | Percentage Bought Back |
| Saratoga Springs | 14 | 50 | 28.0% |
| Animal Kingdom | 8 | 31 | 25.8% |
| Old Key West | 5 | 19 | 26.3% |
| Boardwalk | 3 | 8 | 37.5% |
| Hilton Head | 1 | 7 | 14.3% |
Access all DVC resale listings and learn more about buying and selling with DVC Resale Market.
Comments
isn’t it in disney’s best interest to let a large not that desirable contract go through when it means that someone will be paying the high annual dues that otherwise wouldn’t be paid if disney buys it back?
Although, on second thought, those annual dues aren’t even a drop in the bucket to disney….
I’m surprised Animal Kingdom is being bought back at $103. That doesn’t seem extremely low? I wonder at what point value they would let the sale go through? If I offered $103 and the seller accepted, but Disney bought it back and would of passed on $105? That would be frustrating!
It is low. They had a recent report that AK is selling close to $108. The lesson is don’t think a low offer will work just to save $50 on a 100 point contract. If a seller is asking $102, I’d still bid near $108 because my goal is to own at DVC, not help Disney buy back points.
Hi DVC Resale. Love this monthly newsletter. Couple of questions:
1) Any insight into why some resorts have seen pretty drastic price increases over the past 18 months versus others staying relatively flat? I’m curious as to what you feel drives these prices? I’m feeling somewhat lucky in that we purchased a Boardwalk contract about 2 years ago from you and presumably could sell it back today for a handsome profit (we’re not gonna do that!).
2) Any insight into why Disney makes buybacks? Is it to control prices, thinking of re-issuing contracts at a particular resort, or some other reason?
Thanks DVC Resale!
Andrew – thank you for your response and questions. I think Disney raising the prices of Polynesian, Grand Floridian and Grand Californian significantly had a lot to do with those same 3 resorts experiencing significant price increases with resale as well. On January 17, 2018, DVC raised the direct prices of Grand Floridian $35/pt., Polynesian $44/pt and Grand Californian $50/pt. Once prices go up, especially that dramatically, people will naturally look at alternatives like resale and certainly that increased demand will cause prices to rise with resale.
Disney buys back some contracts for a number of reasons. First, they can make a profit. If they buy back a Saratoga Springs contract at $95/pt., they resale it at $151/pt., so in that example there is a $56/pt. margin. Also, the buy back can satisfy a customer / Member demand they have, and by buying back they can help keep resale value strong as well.
Thank you for the response, Nick. Interesting points on all fronts. Particularly interesting to think about all of the variables going into what drives resale prices from general market conditions all the way to Disney’s pull. I will say it’s a pleasure to have resale as an option, especially when you consider the broader spectrum of options and price points. Thanks again and keep up the good work!
Thanks Andrew!
Bit of a buy back frenzy. Let’s hope they got that out of their system as we’re trying for our 3rd OKW with the previous two taken.
Fingers crossed!