I would argue it has
more to do with cash flow than anything else. Here are some "mental gymnastics":
Let's say you spend $5,000 per year on lodging at Walt Disney World to stay in Deluxes... to be specific with this example, I'll use the Contemporary. How many nights does that get you in the main A-frame? Depends on the time of year, discounts, etc. But it's easy to spend $5k there.
Let's say that alternatively you choose to buy DVC at Bay Lake Tower. A 200 point contract is roughly $30,000 right now. You don't have all the cash now, but your budget allows for the $5,000 in cash every year. So you put $5,000 down and borrow the rest at 9% over 10 years.
$5,000/year = $417 per month towards your DVC.
Monthly dues are $107, so you're down to $310 per month for a payment.
$310 per month for 10 years at 9% allows you to borrow $24,472... add in the down payment and you're at roughly $30k total purchase.
The maintenance fees will increase each year, but so would the cash cost to stay without DVC. And your initial point cost is locked in.
So for the same amount of cash out each year, instead of having nothing but the memories, you can have the memories and 30 more years of stays after it's paid off. And while I don't think it's wise to buy with the intent of selling, your 200 points are more than likely worth something in 10 years as well.
What if you fall on hard times? Then you sell and recoup what you can.
My point is about cash flow... if you have the cash flow to spend 'x' amount on lodging at WDW every year, then you may be better off financing DVC and directing that cash flow towards a DVC loan than continuing to pay cash rates every year. It depends on the resort, but I think the above example is perfectly reasonable.
ETA: quickly glancing at the
point charts, I think a 200-point stay at BLT would transfer to about $5k in cash... A Premier week in a LV Studio, for example, is 199 points. Pretty sure a week at Christmas is at least $5k.