In the spring of 2005, when the real estate market was at its most torrid, 6.3 percent of people with an average net worth of $3.1 million said they intended to buy a second home, according to a report from the American Affluence Research Center.

By March of this year, with the slowing real estate market and a more attractive stock market, about 4 percent said they were seriously considering buying an existing second home in the next year. About 1.9 percent said they were interested in building a second home, down from 4.2 percent in Spring 2005, but up from 1 percent last fall.