With this article, we begin a series of articles about market differences and national timeshare resale agencies.

The American and European timeshare markets are fundamentally different. Fundamentally because they have serious legislative differences, marketing differs too much, and the actions of buyers themselves vary.

American buyers primarily purchase timeshares in resorts located in USA, the Caribbean region, Mexico, and other South American countries. The most popular are timeshares in the Hawaiian Islands, the lake district of Utah, the area of numerous amusement parks in Orlando, and the tip of Florida Keys and in California. And, of course, there are well-known hotel groups that have their own timeshare complexes – Marriott, Hilton, Melia, Ritz Carlton, and others.

If the timeshare you want to sell is located in USA (South, North, Central, and in the Caribbean), it's worth considering the American market for resale.

- Do Americans really not buy timeshares in Europe?

- They do. But, of course, not as much as on their own continent. Americans purchase timeshares exclusively if they are in the region where their roots are, to visit distant relatives or not lose their roots. For this, they choose timeshares in ancient English estates, French castles, Tuscan and Ligurian villas. Only such exclusivity can justify the purchase of cramped apartments by American standards.

American apartments are almost twice the size by standards compared to European ones. Also, it should be noted that exchanging (intercontinental) a European timeshare for an American one will always cost twice as much, and if an American family does not plan to holiday in Europe annually, it is still preferable for them to own an American timeshare. For a complete picture, add extremely cheap domestic flights in USA and their diverse geography.

American (including Canadian) agencies are very similar to real estate agencies; for their work, they must obtain a real estate sales license, which requires mandatory education – the course is quite expensive and lengthy, the exams are serious, but the responsibility of the agencies is high financially.

There are agencies that, like in real estate, do not take upfront payments, but they also do not advertise timeshares. In this case, the buyer is someone living nearby or someone who knows this agency, who is more interested just in case if they have timeshares for sale. Most often, they offer secondary weeks of resorts located nearby. Their already small number of sales decreases annually because buyers go to global internet resources.

Most agencies take money upfront for advertising, as well as a percentage of the sale. In some cases, they also sign an exclusive contract. The cost of advertising is two to three times higher than European prices. This doesn't bother Americans, who are used to paying high fees to specialists.

Americans set prices on average 25%-30% lower than primary market prices. Americans don't need to be explained that the secondary market is lower than the primary one and that it's impossible to sell for the same amount as bought, unless at least 30 years have passed of "inflations-devaluations-tourist booms of the region," etc. High prices on the secondary market are rare – it's usually an overconfident owner who considers their timeshare extremely exclusive. This won't take them far. The prices listed on the website and in price lists do not include agency fees of 5%-10%, as well as expenses for checking and re-registering the timeshare and taxes.

Also, don't forget that although tens of thousands of timeshares are sold and bought annually in the USA, the number of timeshares listed for sale is many times higher. Among them are not very popular resorts and at extremely low prices.

We actively cooperate with American companies when buyers approach us for famous resorts on American continents and also carefully monitor changes in this market.

Let's summarize: the timeshare that can be sold on the American market is primarily a timeshare of an American resort in a popular tourist area. If you want to sell a timeshare in Tenerife or Costa del Sol, taking it to America is a waste of money and time. There's plenty of similar properties there, but more modern and more comfortable.