I appreciate the fact that in the almost-week you've been here you've staked out the doom-and-gloom position. I'm also on the downside of the valuation question, to the point where I am nearly shouted down by the True Believers.
But I think you are just wrong here. The secondary-market valuation of DVC (as it is with any timeshare) is driven by prevailing rental rates. Marriott's Maui Ocean Club, ski weeks at the Grand Colorados in Breck, and peak summer at the oceanfront Marriotts on Hilton Head all routinely sell for five figures on the resale market. That's because the cost of renting one of those units is significantly more than the cost of annual fees. It is unlikely that the supply/demand calculus of any of those is going to change so radically that those weeks no longer have an attractive fees/rental spread.
DVC is in a similar position. A Standard 2BR at Saratoga will run you about $2,350/week in Dues for what used to be called Magic Season. My "typical" week in that season is the week spanning end of Feb/beginning of March. Even if I get that room at 30% off rack (arguable) renting from Disney, I'd be paying $5,900. There is a LOT of headroom between $2,350 and $5,900. 2BRs are the "mid-point" in value for DVC; studios are better, 1BRs are worse, so this is probably a fair comparison.
Yes, dues will go up. But so will Disney's prevailing rates. Dues are tied to actual costs, and so probably track inflation fairly closely. Historically, Disney's prevailing rates have exceeded inflation by a little bit. If that holds (no guarantees) then the value of DVC on the resale market will also be non-trivial. True, there have been bumps in the "prevailing rate" road, but none of them last forever, and if one does (say, Florida floods due to climate change) we aren't going to be worrying about what DVC costs.
Will valuations match the post-COVID-fueled run-up? Probably not. The 2020s probably have a lot in common with the 1920s in this way. But, there will still be value there, and a collapse seems very unlikely. Possible? Sure. Not where I'd bet--and again, I'm one of the naysayers.
I think the fly in the ointment might end up being DVC owners trying to undercut Disney in a private rental market. So far, the owners have floated up towards Disney's valuation. But, in a strong downturn that's going to go south in a hurry--just as it did during the Great Recession. But again: recessions do not last forever, and if one does, the last thing we are going to be worried about is our
Disney vacations.
Of course, the other problem is that DVC has an expiration date. It will be worth $0 eventually. The shape of the curve between now and then? So far, it's performed better than I'd've expected.