Luxury real estate gets slashed

The most expensive real-estate in America just became a little less expensive — with $1 billion in price cuts among America's top listings over the past few months. The high-end real-estate market has seen steep price cuts in recent months as foreign buyers dry up, new tax laws bite the wealthiest states and sellers realize the market peak of 2014-2015 isn't coming back anytime soon, luxury brokers say. According to RedFin, the real-estate brokerage and research firm, fully 12 percent of homes listed for $10 million or more saw a price drop in 2018 — double the levels of 2016 and 2015. Just over 500 listings in the U.S. had a combined price cut of $1 billion in the second quarter, according to RedFin. "Prices were growing too fast for what buyers were willing to pay," said Taylor Marr, a senior economist at RedFin. Some of the price cuts have reached tens of millions of dollars, according to the listing. The Ziff family estate in Manalapan Florida cut its price in May by $27 million, from $165 million to $138 million. That follows a previous price cut, from $195 million last year — so it's price has dropped by $57 million over the past year. A 10-bedroom mansion on Miami Beach's posh Star Island cut its price by $17 million in May, from $65 million to $48 million. A giant apartment at New York's Sherry Netherland had its price cut by $18 million, falling from $86 million to $68 million. The cuts follow a spate of even bigger cuts earlier this year. The $250 million mansion in Bel Air California known as "The Billionaire" became America's most expensive listing when it came onto the market for $250 million in 2017. In April, the price was cut by a massive $62 million, to $188 million.