Celebs: Take my Mansion, Please!
Having trouble unloading your house? Everywhere you look it seems there are more and more houses up for sale, but this might cheer you up -- even big-name celebrities are struggling to sell their homes!
Barry Manilow's beachfront mansion languishing on the market after 20 months? "Bond" star Pierce Brosnan's 3,412-square-foot oceanfront home idling on the market for almost a year? Believe it. Home sales are precariously low right now, and whether you live in a two-bedroom home or a beachfront bungalow, it's a buyer's market.
So, here are five bold-name celebrities whose homes have been on the market for well over a year without selling. Do you hear them wailing ... take my mansion, please!
Barry Manilow
Who: Barry Manilow.
Manilow is a singer-songwriter who writes the songs "the whole world sings," just finished an Australian tour, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and launched Manilow.TV -- a website that contains videos from his personal archives.
Mansion: Manilow's Malibu, Calif., beachfront mansion, perched atop a sandy beach, has an enclosed backyard, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, limestone floors, a two-story living room with a fireplace, and is a walled and gated contemporary home with a courtyard entrance and detached guest house, all located on Malibu Road.
Price: Purchased in 1999 for $3 million, it was listed in May 2009 for $10.9 million, pulled off the market in December 2009, and re-listed in March 2010 for $9.15 million until November 2010, when it was dropped to $7.9 million.
Pierce Brosnan
Who: Pierce Brosnan, suave actor, former 007 star, best known for his romantic appeal to women of all ages.
Mansion: Brosnan's Malibu, Calif., home has sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean, three bedrooms and 3½ baths in 3,412 square feet. The master suite includes a private sitting area, balcony, bathroom with steam shower, clawfoot tub and fireplace.
Price: Purchased in foreclosure in October 1996 for $600,000, Brosnan and his family have occupied the home for 15 years. It was placed on the market in June 2010 for $3.9 million then dropped in December 2010 to $3.5 million.
Manny Ramirez
Who: Manny Ramirez, right-handed outfielder and designated hitter, the ex-Red Sox and ex-Tampa Bay Rays baseball player who recently retired.
Mansion: Ramirez' Ritz-Carlton condo in Boston boasts 4,421 square feet on a single floor, four bedrooms, 5.2 baths, a fireplace, a chef's kitchen, a private master suite, 10-foot ceilings and three deeded parking spaces. Views include Back Bay, Charles River, Boston Harbor and the Boston Common & Public Garden.
Price: Listed at $7.9 million, this is the fourth time Ramirez has put this property up for sale. In 2002, it was listed for $8.9 million and stayed on the market for less than a year. It listed again in November 2005 for $6.9 million and stayed on the market for nearly a year. In spring 2009 it was relisted for $8.5 million, and in October the price was changed back to to $7.9 million.
Hulk Hogan
Who: Hulk Hogan, wrestling superstar who recently signed to host a kid's show, "Hogan's Court."
Mansion: Located in Belleair, Fla., this 17,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, eight-bath mansion sits on 1.5 acres with a guest apartment, boat house, two boat lifts and a floating dock.
Price: The home was listed in 2006 for $25 million. After his divorce from wife Linda, he relisted it in 2009 for $13.9 million. Current market price: a mere $10.9 million.
Billy Joel
Who: Billy Joel, the piano man, is a New York City native, Grammy award-winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Mansion: Joel's 2.4-acre, four-bedroom, six-bathroom home boasts spectacular views of the ocean. It has been extensively renovated by TV designer and Oprah protege Nate Berkus.
Price: Located in the Hamptons, it was purchased in 2004 for $19 million, listed in 2009 for $22.5 million, lowered in September to $19.9 million and just dropped to $18.5 million.