The arrangement is ideal for those, like the Savages, who frequently vacation in the same favorite location and want quality accommodations—yet cannot justify paying millions of dollars for a home that they use only a few weeks each year.

ABERCROMBIE & KENT, Boca Raton, Fla.

Also called “fractionals” because owners hold deeded title to a fraction—usually 1/4 to 1/21—of a home, residence clubs are becoming an important segment of the vacation-ownership market. According to Ragatz Associates, an international research and consulting firm serving the resort industry, sales of high-end fractionals jumped from $170 million in 1999 to almost $358 million in 2002. Unlike traditional time-shares, which are typically sold in one-week increments at prices starting as low as $8,000, fractional shares offer stays from two weeks to three months a year, usually in summer-preferred or winter-preferred time slots. “Fractional ownership is suited for buyers who are less interested in a capital investment and who want to own a slice of the resort lifestyle without jumping in all the way,” says Ogilvy.