Maybe stars really are like the rest of us, at least when it comes to real estate. Perhaps the frothiest market anywhere—second homes of celebrities—has declined by 20 percent, as gauged by the asking price of 10 vacation palaces with A-list provenance.
Click Image Below to View Lance Armstrong’s Texas Ranch, Michael Jackson’s Colorado Getaway and Other Famous Properties for Sale
Pity Lil Wayne. Currently serving a one-year term for weapons possession, he also is caught in the real-estate prison that is the state of Florida. A recent contract deal fell through on his Miami Beach four-bedroom condo, which he bought for $3.1 million in 2007 and is listed at $2.7 million. Another one of his Miami apartments was the subject of hard-to-sell rumors last year due to a lingering marijuana stench (a rumor Lil Wayne denied).
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Or pity Nicolas Cage, who lost his Bel-Air mansion to foreclosure this month. As The Wall Street Journal reported last week, houses that bear loans of $5 million or more are predicted to experience a spike in foreclosures this year.
For now, selling a luxury property (even at a loss) is an enviable feat for celebrities. “Especially in the worst of times, nobody cared who owned it,” says Kevin Tomlinson, a Miami Beach Realtor. “It probably hurt celebrities and well-known businesspersons because buyers felt they had money to lose.”
Vacation homes are even trickier than primary residences, as fewer people feel good stretching for a second residence. Accordingly, (relative) bargains galore. To check out A-list home-away-from-homes—and at what price they’re listed at—click here.
Clark Merrefield and Lauren Streib reported and wrote this list.
