The International Herald Tribune estimates that there are fewer than 25 fractional developments in Europe, with just a few thousand fractional owners.

So you've decided fractional property ownership is for you. You realize that owning a second home is not as economical or practical as you once thought because you only use it a fraction of the year. You want the best, most desirable location without having to worry about upkeep or finding renters when you are not using the property. But before you buy, you still have some burning questions.

One of the strongest selling points of fractional ownership properties has long been the flexibility that it affords owners. However while the opportunity to purchase a fractional ownership property at a single destination is appealing to some, for globetrotting clientele being tied to a given destination resort can be less than ideal. Enter: the luxury fractional trading program.

Surveying the mountain from your private ski lift, it's easy to see why members of the exclusive private residence club The Club at Tristant chose to forego traditional home ownership for membership at what is easily one of America's most exclusive property ownership clubs.

In the September "How to Spend It" magazine the Financial Times noted that some of the most exclusive properties in the worlds most enviable locations are now for sale on a fractional basis.

If you're looking at buying into a private residence club or a luxury fractional home, then at some stage you'll probably ask "Is this a timeshare ?".

Todays Weekend section of the Wall St Journal (subscription required) has an article about fractional ownership and in particular the large luxury hotel companies that are including more fractional offerings within their hotel developments.

This new resort, opening in 2008, will be the first new luxury resort to be built in Bermuda in 35 years. It will include 135 fractional residences.

Developer Brent Virkus and Hyatt have just announced a planned $100 million private residence club right on the beach at Siesta Key

The Puerto Aventuras Residence Club offers luxury fractional ownership in the only gated community on the Mexican Caribbean coast.

Bruce Shugart has lived in the Colorado Rockies since 1975 and currently lives between Vail and Aspen. We recently talked to Bruce about his latest development The Porches and discussed all the recent activity in Steamboat Springs.

David and Paula Flitners family have been ranchers in Shell, Wyoming for over a 100 years. They are now sharing their love of the American West by offering memberships in The Hideout Private Residence Club.

In a growing trend amongst luxury hotel groups, Starwood is adding a private residence club to the Phoenician® resort - a AAA Five Diamond property located at the base of Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Capella Pedregal Residences is the newest fractional project in the exclusive Pedregal area – a 360 acre gated community -- near the resort village of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The residences will be associated with the ultra elite Capella Pedregal Resort and Spa, to be completed and launched in Spring 2008.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey showed vacation home sales hit a record 1.07 million in 2006 representing 14 percent of all homes purchased last year. Sales of luxurious shared ownership homes showed a similar trend according to Ragatz Associates.

Timbers Resorts has earned an excellent reputation as a developer of private residence clubs and high-end boutique resorts. We recently spoke to David Burden the founder and President of Timbers resorts about the companies resorts to date and its future plans.

The Waldorf=Astoria, owned by Hilton hotels, announced that it plans to build a 50-unit luxury fractional Waldorf=Astoria component within the Lake Las Vegas Resort in Henderson, Nevada.

Many of the Private Residence Clubs that we see offer access to golf courses, but one that is very much designed from the ground up for golfers is Private Quarters Club. Owners enjoy luxury golf vacation homes with first class amenities, and the privilege of golf and country club membership. At last weeks Ragatz Fractional conference we spoke to members of the management team.

Nowadays it's fairly straightforward to obtain a mortgage to buy your luxury fractional or private residence club home. The bad news is that not all lenders are familiar with the concept of fractional property, so you might not be able to obtain a mortgage from your neighborhood bank. The good news is that the number of lenders who are offering mortgages for fractional property including private residence clubs is growing all the time. In fact for the banks that do lend for these types of loans it's essentially no different from getting a mortgage on any other second home.

Luxury hotel brands have some of the most high profile private residence clubs on offer. The rich history and high brand visibility that the luxury hotels have amassed over the years can give their Private Residence Club an edge over others. If you buy into one of their clubs you will know all that the brand has to offer in terms of standards and service. We compare four of these Private Residence Clubs offered by luxury hotel brands, Fairmont Heritage Place, Four Seasons Residence Club, St. Regis Residence Club and the Ritz-Carlton Club.