As Florida Home Sales Tank, Time-Shares Soar

For-sale signs are nearly as common as mailboxes in many neighborhoods of Central Florida these days, but there is one type of real estate that buyers are snatching up at a record pace: time shares.

Industry experts say time shares might look like Florida real estate on the surface, but most people don’t think of them that way.

“Time shares are about vacations, the real estate market is about homes,” said David Siegel, CEO of Central Florida Investments, which owns Westgate Resorts time-share group.

“People always want vacations, and we’re booming.”

Siegel said Westgate’s sales have increased 25 percent this year over last, reflecting the performance of other companies in the sector.

“What other industry can you name that is having that kind of year?” Siegel asked. “We have 28 resorts and not one slow one. People know that for 10 percent down, they can live the dream.”

The time-share industry, largely based in the Central Florida housing market, is growing wealthy selling real estate in a fourth dimension.

• A newly released study shows sales of time shares in Florida rose from $1.6 billion in 2002 to $2.6 billion in 2005.

• There are now 378 time-share resorts in Florida with 47,400 units.

“Customers coming through our doors today are more educated about the product and the industry than they used to be,” said Ed Kinney, spokesman for Orlando-based Marriott Vacation Club.

“Years ago, they would come to us for promotions, like inexpensive vacations. Now they have friends recommend that they call.”

Bill Sherman, a contracts manager with Boeing at Kennedy Space Center, owns two Marriott units and loves to talk about them. Sherman and his wife, Denise, bought their first time share in 1992.

“We consider ourselves time-share ambassadors,” said Sherman, who lives in Orlando.

Like other owners, he is quick to tick off the advantages.

With no Florida mortgage loan to worry about, the Shermans spend a week at his unit in Hilton Head, S.C., annually, and invite his children to use an Orlando unit at Marriott Vacation Club’s Grande Vista.

“In our minds, it’s a great value,” Sherman said. “When you buy one, you are getting an annual vacation for the rest of your life.”

Time-share buyers typically purchase a unit in one-week increments. Marriott charges $7,900-137,000 for a one-week-a-year interest in a unit and, like other companies in the industry, tacks on an annual maintenance fee - typically less than $700 a year.

There is no single explanation for the nearly uninterrupted growth of industry sales, but when no one is applying for Florida mortgages, the time-share as a concept grows a lot more appealing.

The industry says its own external marketing efforts, which rely heavily on referrals from current owners, reach more and more prospects.

Another factor is the big run-up in Florida real estate prices, which put second homes out of the reach of many middle-income vacationers.

Follow the link to read more about Florida time-shares in yesterday’s Lakeland Ledger …