You have found a handful of DVC resale listings that look interesting. Great. Now comes the real work: deciding which contract actually fits your vacation style, your budget, and your long term plans. Let's walk through the factors that separate a smart purchase from an expensive regret.
Price Per Point Is Your Starting Metric
Every DVC resale listing has a total price, but total price alone tells you almost nothing. A 200 point contract at Saratoga Springs for $20,000 ($100 per point) is a fundamentally different proposition than a 100 point contract at Riviera for $16,500 ($165 per point). You need to compare price per point within the same resort first, then across resorts if you're flexible on location.
As of mid 2026, typical price per point ranges look like this:
- Value tier (Saratoga Springs, Old Key West): $90 to $120 per point
- Mid tier (Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boulder Ridge, Copper Creek): $120 to $160 per point
- Premium tier (Riviera, Grand Floridian, Polynesian Village): $160 to $220 per point
A listing priced well below the range for its resort might signal a motivated seller, or it might signal something less desirable about the contract itself (stripped points, short expiration, high annual dues coming). Dig deeper before assuming you've found a steal.
Check the Use Year and Banked Points
The use year determines when your annual points become available. If you typically vacation in December, a February use year gives you maximum flexibility to bank or borrow around that trip. A contract with banked points from the prior year is a genuine bonus because you'll have extra points available immediately after closing.
Contracts that have been "stripped" (current year points already used by the seller) are worth less. You're paying for points you won't receive until the next use year rolls around. Factor that gap into your offer price.
Contract Expiration Matters More Than You Think
A Boardwalk contract expiring in 2042 has 16 years of value remaining. A Riviera contract expiring in 2070 has 44 years. Even if the price per point is similar, the Riviera contract delivers nearly three times the total vacation value. For younger buyers especially, a longer expiration date means decades of additional use (or resale value down the road).
Annual Dues Tell the Real Cost
The purchase price is a one time expense. Annual dues are forever (or at least until the contract expires). Resorts with higher dues cost you more every single year you own. Polynesian Village currently runs around $9.50 per point in annual dues. Saratoga Springs sits closer to $7.50. Over a 20 year ownership period on a 150 point contract, that $2.00 per point difference adds up to $6,000 in extra dues.
Check the resort details page for current dues schedules before making your decision.
Location and Booking Priority
Resale contracts purchased at one resort can book at other DVC resorts, but your home resort gets an 11 month booking window while all other resorts open at 7 months. If you're dead set on a specific resort during peak season (Christmas week at Grand Floridian, for example), owning at that resort gives you a meaningful advantage.
If you're more flexible on where you stay, a lower cost resort could make sense financially while still giving you access to the full DVC network at the 7 month mark.
ROFR: The Wildcard
Disney retains the Right of First Refusal on every resale transaction. They can match your accepted offer and take the contract themselves. In 2026, ROFR exercise rates have been relatively low, but Disney tends to target contracts priced significantly below market. If your offer looks too good to be true, Disney might agree.
ROFR adds 2 to 4 weeks to your closing timeline (30 to 60 days total is typical). You'll also pay approximately $500 in buyer closing costs and the seller covers a $150 estoppel fee. These costs are standard across all DVC resale transactions.
Putting It All Together
The best contract for you balances price per point, contract length, annual dues, point availability, and home resort booking priority. There's no single "best" listing. There's only the best listing for your specific situation.
Start browsing available contracts on our resale listings page, and use the vacation point calculator to see how many points your ideal trip actually requires. Once you've narrowed your list, compare three or four contracts side by side using the criteria above. You'll know which one fits.
Questions about a specific listing? Our team can walk you through contract details and help you understand exactly what you're purchasing. Check out how the process works for a full overview of buying DVC resale.
