If you’ve been following Consumerist religiously and have implemented all our money-saving tips then you will no doubt have saved enough cash by now for a down payment on the 13-bedroom, 9-fireplace Upper East Side home listed recently for $45 million. You didn’t? Well, Madonna beat you to it. And since this girlfriend doesn’t pay retail price for anything, she managed to get it at the sweet, sweet price of $32.5 million.

But don’t despair, there are plenty of other magnificent homes available at ridiculous discounts. (Or should that be ridiculous homes at magnificent discounts… you decide.) Check out “Les Baux de Palm Springs”, Suzanne Somers‘s 65-acre property, which is now offered at a bargain $14.9 million — a discount of almost $20 million (!!) from its original price of $35 million. Or Greg Norman’s plantation-style estate on Jupiter Island, which can now be yours for the bargain-basement price of $47.5 million (originally listed at $65 million).

It’s no surprise that the luxury home market isn’t doing so well in a recession — but even those who can afford to take advantage of the rock-bottom prices are now finding that banks are demanding larger down payments, interest rates on “jumbo loans” have skyrocketed, and expensive neighborhoods have become ghost towns.

Sigh, even the millionaires can’t catch a break!

Madge in the Back of Beyond [New York Times]
Home Sales Perk up, But Expensive Houses Languish [Time]
Stars Not Immune To Slow Market [AOL]
Les Baux de Palm Springs [Luxist]
Greg Norman’s Tranquility [Luxist]
(Photo: thetruthaboutmortgage.com)

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