Celebrity homes for sale

In the 1997 film Con Air, Nicolas Cage fought for control of a hijacked plane. Ten years later, as Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider, he risked his life as a daredevil motorcyclist on a mission to avenge his father's death. And in 2006's The Wicker Man, Cage's character faces down a hostile group of pagans.

But no amount of enterprise could save the actor's real estate investments from foreclosure this year. Cage lost two New Orleans properties at auction (a bank was the buyer). This month, his French Quarter mansion went for $2.3 million and his Garden District house went for $2.2 million. Each was appraised for $3.45 million, for a combined loss of $2.4 million, according to records from the Orleans Parish Assessor's Office.

Cage's predicament proves that even celebrities are struggling in today's real estate market. Foreclosure aside, a handful of actors and sports stars have lowered the asking prices of their multimillion-dollar listed homes in an effort to lure reluctant buyers. They include Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and Phat Farm's Russell Simmons.

Their actions mirror those of luxury homeowners nationwide. A recent report by real estate Web site Trulia.com showed that high-end homes continue to bear the brunt of discounts being offered. An average of 14% is being slashed from the original asking price of luxury homes, compared to the national average of 10%. Additionally, luxury homes, which represent less than 2% of all current listings on Trulia, are responsible for 25% of the $28.1 billion in current home-price reductions.

Star Struggles

Actor-comedian Eddie Murphy can likely relate. He slashed the price of his 32-room New Jersey mansion in September by a whopping 50%. Mu