Ragatz Reports Fractional Resort Sales Drop in 2024

The annual survey of private residence clubs and fractional real estate interests from Ragatz Associates shows total sales of about $333m in 2024. This amount includes new closed sales, presales, and in-house resales at fractional resorts and developments and is a significant decrease from the $580m in 2023. 

The breakdown of these 2024 North American sales is shown in the table below:

In the table above, Ragatz Associates simply assumes that product selling for less than $1,000 per square foot falls into the fractional interest category, and product selling for more than $1,000 per square foot falls into the private residence club category.

The fractional resort sales saw their peak years back in 2007, sales of $1,687m, and 2008, $1,187m. Sales were then relatively level from 2010 to 2020, averaging $234m per year but then bumped up to $624 million in 2022 and to $580 million in 2023.

To calculate these numbers, Ragatz reached out to 336 fractional interest projects and private residence clubs (prc). Of the 336 developments only 26 actually made some sales in 2024. Most of the inactive developments are older, sold-out fractional interest projects. Of the 26 active developments, 8 are fractional interest projects (product selling for less than $1,000 per square foot) and 18 are private residence clubs (product selling for more than $1,000 per square foot ).

The Ragatz report says that "In 2024, the average annual sales volume in the active projects was $6.7 million for fractional interest projects and $15.5 million for private residence clubs. However, if excluding the top private residence club, the average for that component would decline to $7.1 million." In other words, the top private residence club sold over $150m in 2024.

Note that in 2023 the private residence club sector saw sales of $525m, with three developments having sales over $150m.

The most common share size in the fractionals is 1/8th shares which represent about 50% of the market, and for the prcs is 1/8th to 1/10th (so about 5 to 6 weeks of use each year). 

Some 87 percent of the units are either two-bedrooms (25 percent), three-bedrooms (29 percent) or four bedrooms (33 percent), with an average unit size of 2,040 square feet and the average shared-ownership project will contain 30 units.

Prices vary widely between projects. For fractional interest projects the average prices are $300,350 per share, equivalent to $39,725 per week and $870 per square foot - this is a significant increase from prior years. For private residence clubs, these averages are $519,050 per share, $90,175 per week, and $1,750 per square foot. Annual maintenance fees average $5,200 among fractional interest projects to $19,165 among private residence clubs.

The full report, with more detailed analysis, is available at the Ragatz Associates website for $300.

Note, the Ragatz Report covers resort type developments with multiple fractional units in one location, and as stated above the average shared-ownership project will contain 30 units. It does not cover the various forms of shared ownership of standalone single family homes. The latter include residence funds or equity destination clubs, like Equity Residences and Destination M, that buy and share multiple homes amongst owners, and newer programs, like GoForth that enable sharing of individual homes.