The Real Estate Licensing Board has recently received a study which it had commissioned entitled The Evolving Role of Time-Sharing, North Carolina Real Estate Markets. The study was conducted by Richard Mann, Mike Miles and Sharon Worden of the University of North Carolina School of Business and was designed to examine the timesharing industry in North Carolina and the various approaches taken by other states to its regulation.

Time-sharing generally involves the purchase of a given block of time in resort accommodations. As a result of the high cost of vacations in the nation's resort areas, the timesharing industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years with North Carolina's attractive mountains and beaches making this state a prime target for time-sharing development. The study notes, however, that although some forty states have some form of time-share regulation, only seven states have enacted comprehensive time-share laws.

This study will provide the Board a better understanding of various time-share programs being offered and will assist the Board in determining whether further regulation in this area is needed.