With all this talk of the luxury home market being dead, one might think second homes are a thing of the past. But in an economic era where less is more, a burgeoning inventory of second homes are hitting the market both here in New York and in some of the country's most desirable vacation locales. With prices softening, brokers are hoping to turn browsers into buyers.

For those in the second home market right now, choices are bountiful. Whether its quaint urban dwellings in Manhattan, Hamptons estates, golf resort communities, beachfront properties or villas overseas, vacation homes are up for sale everywhere.

Here in our own backyard, pricing drops have spurred some second home sales activity, particularly among international buyers, according to Karin Posvar-Picket, senior vice president at Corcoran.

Posvar-Picket just closed on a 900 s/f pied-à-terre at 59 East 75th Street, which sold for just under $1 million – a couple thousand bucks off what the home would have fetched at the height of the market. The seller, and now the buyer – both international – used the space as a second home.

For those eyeing a second home in the Manhattan market, location is key, along with close proximity to the major shopping corridors. But those in the second home market, despite typically being all-cash buyers, remain on the hunt for a bargain.

"I think that value is always going to be important, and that might bring more buyers looking for pied-a-terre into the market," Posvar-Picket said.

With close to triple the amount of inventory online from a year ago, Posvar-Picket expects pricing may come down even further and buyers are beginning to see the advantages to acquiring a second home today. Unlike first-home buyers, she believes they're less hesitant about spending and they have the luxury to be so.

With that being said, everything is, however, staying the market longer.

In fact, some properties in prime vacation destinations have stayed on the market so long they have ultimately foreclosed. That's certainly been the case he Hamptons market, according to Allison Scollar, a real estate attorney at Guzov Ofsink's transactional division.

“The market is in shambles out there," said Scollar, who handles a lot of deals in the high-end Hamptons market.

She said international buyers from England, France Asia are missing in action and over-development plagued the market there – a market that she says is down 20-30% in value and will continue to drop. For those who now have to budget – after going years with economic security – it's the extras that have to go, as some owners are feeling pressure to pawn off their secondary assets.

"If you lose your job, which is more important: your secondary home or your primary one?" Scollar asked rhetorically.

But the Hamptons have been a tough sell. Many owners have resorted to rental arrangements in the interim, but the times indicate that "big ticket items" and the "splashy places" so commonplace there are not nearly as desirable as they were a couple of years ago, said Scollar, who noted that "excess is out."

Chad Roffers, principal at Roffers Real Estate, agreed. He handles deals in top vacation destinations in Florida, Aspen, Colo. and the Hamptons and sees that the softening in the housing sector has been heightened in the second home market.

According to Roffers, housing woes originated in the vacation home market a few years back. Now that owners of primary residences are suffering the psychology of seeing a precipitous drop in their home values, it's delivered a second blow to the second home market.

One issue he identified is the swelling inventory stemming from brokers taking on too many listings. In today's environment, he said, brokers need to sit down with owners and advise them to hold on to their assets for another five years, if they can. Testing the market, he said, should be a last resort.

"The trend that I've seen is that asking prices are well north of 2003 and 2004 levels," said Roffers, noting that today's trading prices are more reflective of 2001 values.

Roffers said that second homes are no longer seen as the investment of yesterday and that those browsing for vacation homes are even bigger bargain shoppers than primary home buyers because they are in no rush to spend on "discretionary" purchases – and won't accept anything less than a steal.

One way to convince buyers they're getting a bargain is splitting the tab.

The developers of a vacation project coined Aquapura Douro Valley, in the heart of Portugal's wine region, announced last month that it now offers fractional ownership opportunities of its luxury villas, which range from 1,500-2,500 s/f. The crux of the fractional ownership program is to make owning a second home more feasible financially.

Through this initiative buyers can now take advantage of having full property rights of a villa, equipped with private heating swimming pools, terraces, spa, concierge and on-site restaurants, beginning at $152,811 (for those dividing ownership among four parties).

The second-home opportunities abroad, explained Fox Residential associate broker Annette Elvey, are highly favorable to the buyer, but she said it's been difficult getting Americans to take notice of such markets since consumers have been so fixated on the domestic economy.

"I think there's a great opportunity for Americans who want second homes in Italy but they're missing the boat because they're so concerned with what's happening here," said Elvey. "It's a buyers' market right now – even in Europe."

Despite that, the response thus far for two spectacular listings in the Umbria section of Italy has been lackluster. Elvey is representing one villa for just over one million in Euro and another, more elaborate 22-acre estate – the two-level 5,400 s/f Villa Monte-porzano, which overlooks the historic town of Orvieto. Elvey said her clients – like every seller in today's market – is negotiable, but prospective buyers have yet to step up to the plate to begin the process. While there are a variety of economic and psychological reasons why buyers aren't spending, she says there are plenty of folks out there with the capital for a vacation home. She likens their resistance to a "moral hesitation" of sorts, meaning even the wealthy no longer feel justified in spending.

Yet, all the data indicates this is a great time to snatch a vacation home, with most properties off 30% in pricing, according to the National Association of Realtors' 2009 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey. NAR research shows that median vacation home sales prices peaked at $204,100 in 2004 but now stands at $150,000 today, marking a 23% decline from 2007 median sales prices ($195,000).

"A few years ago when prices were escalating rapidly, people were kicking themselves in the rear for not having bought earlier when real estate was far more reasonable," said Christine Karpinski, owner community director for HomeAway.com.

Those buyers who fail to act now, she said, will look back on 2009 prices in 2012 and feel a sense of regret. Yet, she's hopeful that buyers are beginning to wise up.

Buyers looking for bargains can also turn to auctions, which are increasingly becoming a popular alternative for owners growing impatient with the quiet market.

After sitting on the market for more than two years, a 5,590 s/f vacation home in the golf resort community of Isleworth, Fla. just sold for $1.1 million to an Columbian buyer. It took an auction to move the home, which garnered more than a dozen bids in the process.

"The auction process helped produce a successful sale by creating competition and a sense of urgency for buyers," said Laura Brady, president of Concierge Auctions, which facilitated the Isleworth deal.

Michael Fine, executive vice president of auction company Sheldon Good, said auctions are particularly beneficial today because it resolves the pricing disconnect. Buyers know prices are off and expect a bargain; sellers recognize dropping values too – but neither party knows exactly where to meet in the middle.

Right now, Fine's firm handling the auction of 18 homes at The Peninsula vacation resort in Delaware. Bids for those properties are starting at $200,000, marking a 71% discount from original prices.

Carpe diem is the most salient advice one can offer a second-home buyer right now, said Fine. "You buy when the market is down, you don't wait for the bottom," Fine said. "By the time you learn the market's at the bottom, it's already on its way back up."