WHY DO TIMESHARES LOSE SO MUCH VALUE ON THE RESALE MARKET?
On timeshare presentations salespeople sometimes tell buyers that timeshares appreciate in value. Although many are deeded, unfortunately, they are not like houses and very rarely increase in value. Sadly, it is more likely to lose 40% to 80% of its value the moment one walks out the door. In some cases it is not even sellable. It is common that nearly half the cost of buying a timeshare from the resort directly goes toward marketing incentives and sales commissions.
As with any product, the value of a timeshare resale is going to be based on supply and demand. There are currently many weeks on the market, and the demand is poor. Timeshare resale buyers are savvy and they always want the best "deal' they can find. So as you would imagine, the lowest priced week always sells first. There are just so many people desperate to get rid of their timeshare that some are even giving them away just to be free of yearly maintenance fees.
We wish we had better news. Unfortunately, the resort where you own doesn’t have demand in the resale market. It is highly unlikely resale values will go up because timeshare developers are selling more and more timeshares at the resort level all the time. It is likely there will be much more supply on the resale market in the future making it even more difficult to get rid of an unwanted timeshare.