Some of us predicted that RIV would never sell for more than $100 right out of the gate.
It did though and 6 years later, it seems to be averaging closer to $115 to $120.
There are contracts out there with asking prices sub $110 that are sitting on the market. So whatever brokers (who have incentives to report high numbers) are advertising about "average selling prices", I'm not sure I buy it - no pun intended. I suspect a non-loaded/non-stripped contract averages $100-$105 nowadays, and that we may see more ROFRs in the high $80s or low $90s when there are motivated sellers.
My feeling is that when RIV is sold out that the resale value will at the very least stabilize.
Once sold out, someone who wants home resort at RIV has only two options…pay $275 direct…or buy resale.
If the person wants RIV, then why won’t they pay $120 or $130 for it vs $275 direct.
Because it's not the same product. One if fully functional and the other is purposely engineered to lack functionality all owners value... The market for owners who want a timeshare and never trade out to a different one is probably very limited.
My guess is that IF THE PRICE WAS EQUAL a lot of those who think they want Riviera as a top choice, would "settle" for BLT, VGF, or POLY and have access to 14 resorts for at least 10-15 years (and 8 resorts for ~2 decades after that) than stick to Riviera, and only Riviera, until they die or until 2070. And, if that's the case, the price will have to stabilize at a much lower level to reflect those two different product types that will be on the market.
It really does come down to how important it is to be at a restricted resort.
For us, being at RiV is simply more important then the potential resale value down the road.
You are an informed buyer, and made an informed decision based on your preferences.
But if you put yourself in the shoes of a the resale buyer looking at an array of resale contracts at "sold out resorts", it's hard to ignore that the O14 contracts have a strong advantage over the restricted ones, and one that will last for decades. That's why I don't expect the restricted ones to sell at similar prices in equilibrium.