Equity Estates Identifies 2009 Target Destinations

By: Destination Club News
Date: January 13, 2009

Equity Estates, one of the fastest growing clubs in the destination club industry despite the poor economic climate, is looking to capitalize on some of the best prices the real estate market has seen in decades. Over the course of 2009, Equity Estates plans on adding upwards of six new destinations to their portfolio of properties, each available exclusively to club members.

"We are extremely excited about taking advantage of some of the best buying opportunities for luxury real estate during the past 20 years," the club writes. "We expect to have eight or nine wonderful destinations available for travel in 2009, and could add another four to six over the next 12 months on our way to closing the fund with as many as 50 residences."

The destinations currently under consideration by the equity based club include:

  • Telluride, Colorado
  • Hilton Head, South Carolina
  • Laguna Beach, California
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Jackson Hole, Wyoming
  • Tuscany, Italy
  • San Francisco, California
  • Southeastern Mountain/Lake Destination

Equity Estates proudly publishes that their member to property ratio will not exceed seven to one, meaning that the club plans to add roughly 40 new members in 2009 if the wish to add six new destinations to their portfolio and even more if they plan on adding new properties in destinations the club already has residences, such as New York City or the Turks & Caicos.

We spoke with Equity Estates' President Adam Capes last year about the value they were seeing in real estate. "We’re finding luxury homes up to 30% off in markets that would have sold at market rate just a few years ago," he told us. "Our owners/members love that we are acquiring our portfolio of homes in a down real estate market."

Last year, name clubs such as Portofino and The LUSSO Collection both filed for bankruptcy and sales across the destination club industry slowed as the financial and real estate markets declined. While interest in the majority of the sector did decline throughout 2008, we are told that Equity Estates and their equity based model actually improved on their 2007 numbers. We will sit down with the club's executives soon to learn more about their year and where they plan to go in the new year.

If you are currently considering destination club membership and would like to compare equity clubs to non-equity clubs, request a free copy of our Destination Club Guide for more information about the benefits and risks of each and a list of suggested due diligence questions to help you learn more about clubs you may be considering.