It's so interesting to see the perspectives on this. When I researched prior to purchasing, I realized that it's a snowball. Those who bought 10 years ago - regardless of when 10 years ago was; got a deal. Even if it was direct. Some examples, BLT was $120 Direct and is averaging $149/pt resale as of Sept 2019. AKV: was $112 Direct vs $114 Resale as of Sept 2019. Sure there's inflation and time value of money, etc. But even with that you have to admit as an owner, it's not a bad deal. It's basically a 2.5% compounded annually increase - that's more than inflation in that timeframe and even beats out a CD rate in that timeframe. So if you were a 10 year buyer/holder then sold, it would have only cost annual fees to pay for your 10 years of vacation.
I just bought Poly at $128/pt. While I plan on using it and not considering it as an investment, I wouldn't be too upset if this causes my resale value to climb. If in 10 years I get sick of Disney, want a new resort, or wahtever it is and want to sell it for $182/point; I'd only have to sell it for $160/pt for a 2.5% return - or slightly better than a CD rate. Raising prices along the way just helps me out.
Of course we can say - well at some point DVC isn't worth it. But that's only true if Disney raises DVC without raising it's cash rooms. The dollar amount stinks, but think about inflation. It's only expensive if it's outpacing everything else. If everything goes up by 10%, it'll normalize. And if everything goes up 10% and Riviera stays at it's current, it'll look like a deal. Sure it's demand levers primarily targetted at protecting Disney; but it has some very real effects on current and future owners as well. These are the things that prevent your purchase from being on a TUG board being listed for $1.
