Shared Ownership Report Sheds Light on Fractional and Timeshare Buying Trends

Important insights on the state of the timeshare, vacation ownership and fractional were announced last month during the 12th Annual Ragatz Fractional & Resort Real Estate Conference held at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch in Arizona.

Published as a report, the Shared-Ownership Resort Real Estate Industry In North America: 2012,consolidates data on sales in the fractional industry. The findings show that although buying patterns are below what they were at their peak, sales in 2011 were on the upswing.

As fractional resort real estate expertRichard Ragatz, Ph.D. of Ragatz Associates explains, “The key finding is that total sales volume in 2011 was about $552 million, a slight increase from $530 million in 2010. While this increase is nominal, it represents a four percent gain. We also learned that a significant number of developers said that sales were better during the second half of 2011 than in the first half, giving the impression that the bleeding has finally stopped and that we may be turning the corner.”

Of the $552 million sales, there were in-house sales, presales, and new closed sales.

• 19 percent were Florida projects, accounting for $103 million
• 40 percent were destination clubs, accounting for $221 million
• 41 percent were private residence clubs, accounting for $228 million

This year’s Ragatz Conference included all components of the resort real estate industry, from timeshare, to rental clubs, fractional interests, and whole-ownership vacation homes. The complete report is available for purchase from Ragatz Associates at (www.RagatzAssociates.com)