The number of mansions sold in some of the state's toniest towns -- Weston, Wellesley and Brookline -- has plunged more than 30 percent during the first four months of the year.
And sellers of luxury homes are having to bargain in order to cut a deal.
Just take the 20,000-square-foot, 20-room and nine-fireplace palace constructed by Dr. John Meola, a wealthy dentist who has worked on the teeth of Patriots and Celtics players.
At one point, he hoped to get $18 million.
After years on the market, the Weston mansion is finally under agreement with the listing price at a mere $10.9 milion. The estate even comes with a second house, a 1740s colonial, that, at 4,000 square feet, is larger than many suburban homes.
The buyer is a foreign tycoon.
"At its asking price, you couldn't replace this house," said one real estate executive familiar with the deal. "It's a bargain."
So far, there have been just 10 sales since the start of the year over $3 million in Wellesley, Weston and Brookline, down from 17 during the same period in 2007, real estate records show.
The sale of Meola's Weston mansion comes on the heels of another blockbuster home sale that also saw a significnat price discount.
Last fall, principal Red Sox owner John Henry bought a sprawling, 1920s Georgian Revival manse in Brookline for $16 million.
But the mansion and an adjacent lot had previously been on the market for $27 million. Henry plans to tear down the estate, formerly owned by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, and build his own palace on the site.
One key to the slower times on mansion row is the recent financial market turmoil. With the collapse of hedge funds and roller-coaster stock prices, even those at the top of the economic pyramid are feeling the pain.
"I would say that end of the market is no longer escalating the way it once did in terms of price escalation," said Peter Casey, former president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
sbvanvoorhis@bostonherald.com
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