I'm not a DVC owner but I read a lot of these DVC threads, and the impression I'm left with is that Disney wants to seriously limit the number of DVC resale buyers. The newest restrictions make resale contracts that much less attractive, even though for the buyer the cost per point is lower than buying direct--and the new restrictions also lead one to believe that more restrictions are in the works since they keep accumulating--and escalating. What if DVC eliminates free parking at the resort if your contract is resale? Or changes the booking window for resale purchases? Or . . . or . . . or . . . the list is endless.
I can't believe that a large number of DVC purchasers don't seriously consider the resale value, no matter how Disney-starry-eyed they are when they make their purchase. This is a huge investment and a continuing expense (MF). And it's completely optional, unlike buying a car, for example, which is another pretty big investment with continuing expenses that has not-great resale value. But people need their cars. They don't need DVC. And having to sell one's contract in the future is an obvious possibility. Life events occur. Things happen. Tastes change.
The more resale restrictions there are, the less attractive buying at all seems to me. If I were to buy resale, there'd be all the restrictions that're currently in place, and if I wanted to sell down the line, there could possibly be even more restrictions by then, making it difficult or impossible to break even on my initial purchase. If I were to buy direct, I would've spent even more money on the points only to be in the exact same situation if I wanted/needed to sell them.
I guess what I'm saying is that it actually seems like a bad business idea for DVC to impose so many resale restrictions, since how can this not hurt direct sales?
Although of course I could be completely wrong about this. Maybe buyers don't think about this kind of stuff and it just seems like they might to me, since when I buy something that costs what DVC costs, I give it a lot of thought and consideration.
BTW, I'm a regular WDW visitor but I never bought DVC because it just doesn't fit either my budget, my mindset, or my vacation style. But I totally understand why people bought in the past. Why people are buying now, though, is kind of a mystery to me.