Celebrities lose thousands on real estate

I hate myself for writing this, but it’s too hard to resist. Forbes Magazine, which has a love affair with the list, recently compiled another one: its list of the biggest real estate losses taken by celebrities.

You can read the story, written by Dorothy Pomerantz, here. In a nutshell, it explains how the nation’s residential real estate slump has hit Los Angeles, too, home of many celebrities. It also explains that the slump has hit owners trying to sell multi-million-dollar homes hardest, and that, of course, is what celebrities do.

Now here’s what you came for: the biggest losers. Young rock star Avril Lavigne has reduced the price on her five-bedroom, six-bathroom house in Beverly Hills from $6.9 million to $5.8 million. Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash bought his house in 2006 for $6.2 million, but had to sell it last December for $5.7 million.

Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s former sidekick, put his 7,000-square-foot house on the market in July of 2006 for $7.7 million. He is now asking for $5.7 million.

You know, just because people become celebrities do they really need houses with six bathrooms, or mansions that cover 7,000 square feet of living space? Maybe these celebrities wouldn’t be having so much trouble selling their homes if they had bought something a bit more reasonable.