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Prices have dipped, but some sellers are certain their nine-figure properties will attract buyers.

Last year, a 40-acre Greenwich, Conn., property with a 21,897-square-foot, 14-bedroom Jacobean manor was listed for $125 million. It was the world’s second most expensive home for sale.

It now sports a $60 million price tag and falls just short of making this year’s list.

It’s no secret sellers across the country are resorting to measures such as price cuts of 20% and higher to move their homes. What’s new: That group is increasingly including owners of eight- and nine-figure properties. Last year, investor Marty Zweig pulled the $70 million Pierre Hotel penthouse off the market after it was listed for four years. Financier Leonard Ross, who had asked $165 million for the Hearst Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., de-listed it in September 2008.

A few months later, Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia removed his $135 million Aspen ski lodge from the ranks of available listings. This year, “Hillendale,” in Stamford, Conn., fell victim to the depressed housing market. It was listed for $95 million. It’s no longer for sale. Others, such as the owners of an $85 million Wallace Neff-designed mansion, are leasing their properties until the market picks up.

Such moves, says Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, are to be expected.

“There was a frenzy that caused the prices of these properties to be astronomical,” he says. “Dramatic discounts are not as much a reflection of the market crashing, but a reflection of a reality.”

While the number of buyers willing to invest in eight- and nine-figure homes has always been slim, a pullback in jumbo loan-financing has shrunk the pool even further. And some with the means to pay cash are waiting to see when the housing market will return to stability.

They may be holding off a while.

“First, the lower end of market started breaking,” says Mike Simonsen, chief executive of Altos Research, a real estate statistics provider. “Then, it was only 12 months ago when the luxury market started to break, and just recently when the ultra-luxury market started to break. It may be years–it may be many years–before that market recovers. For this level, it will be even slower than the luxury market at large.”

To entice buyers, owners and their brokers are resorting to strategies often reserved for sellers in more mainstream markets.

That’s the tack the owners of the BootJack Ranch in Pagosa Springs, Co., adopted. In the last year, they lowered their asking price from $88 million to $68 million.

The home’s broker, Bill Fandel of Sotheby’s International Realty, hoped the discount would ignite interest. He says inquiries are coming from overseas billionaires.

“For those who have the wherewithal for a property like this,” he says, “[they] now have to feel like they’re buying well, that they’re getting a great deal of value for these enormous prices.”

Herald Grant, also with Sotheby’s, de-listed an $80 million Southampton retreat that rounded out the World’s Most Expensive list last year, rather than let it sit unsold.

“You put emotional prices on properties when people were spending,” he says, “Now, sellers are being more conservative.”

Grim forecasts, however, haven’t deterred some sellers from listing their luxurious estates.

In March, Candy Spelling, wife of the late producer, Aaron Spelling, publicly listed their $150 million Holmby Hills mansion. Named “The Manor,” the 100-room property tops this year’s list. Despite plummeting home prices everywhere, it is priced higher than last year’s No. 1, “Fleur De Lys,” also in Holmby Hills and listed for $125 million. That property was modeled after Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles, and is spread over 45,000 square feet.

The $100 million Albemarle House, a Charlottesville, Va., estate, is another newcomer to the list. Situated on 300 acres, and neighboring Monticello and Ash Lawn-Highland, the eight-bedroom Georgian home was designed by architect/designer David Easton.

Owners of properties outside the States also seem to be betting their properties’ unique characteristics will draw buyers. Updown Court, the $117 million estate said to be larger than both Buckingham or Hampton Court palace, remains on the market. So does the $102 million, 11-bedroom, 29,000-square-foot Villa Leopolda on the French Riviera.

If their owners get antsy, perhaps they can consult Joel Horowitz, the co-founder of Tommy Hilfiger, and owner of “Tranquility” on Lake Tahoe. The $100 million, 210-acre property has been listed since 2006.

 $150 million

The Manor

Los Angeles, Calif.

Built by Candy and Aaron Spelling, this 4.7-acre estate rests flat land in Holmby Hills. Its numerous entertaining salons feature Palladian windows and views of the property’s gardens and landscaping. A grand staircase greets guests who enter the foyer, and a fountain sits in the center of the circular driveway.

It is listed with Jeff Hyland from Hilton & Hyland Real Estate and Sally Forster Jones from Coldwell Banker Previews International. 

$125 million

Fleur De Lys

Los Angeles, Calif.

Suzanne Saperstein’s Beverly Hills estate is modeled after Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles. The 45,000-square-foot home took five years to build following Saperstein’s accumulation of five acres during the 1990s.

Should strolling the grounds bore you, there is a 50-seat screening room and a library. A nine-car garage completes the home’s luxurious amenities.

 $117 million

Updown Court

Windlesham, Surrey

Said to be larger than both Buckingham or Hampton Court palace, this 103-room home has 58 acres of gardens and woodlands.

Several ballrooms and grand entrance ways punctuate Updown Court, which has a panic room, an indoor squash court, bowling alley, 50-seat cinema, helipads, space for eight limousines and a heated marble driveway. Marble bathrooms are nice, but some would say indoor spas, Jacuzzis and pools with views of the grounds are better.

$102 million

Villa Leopolda

Cote D’Azur, France

Situated on the French Riviera, this 11-bedroom, 14-bathroom mansion has 29,000 square feet of interior space that opens to manicured lawns and a swimming pool.

The spiraling outdoor staircases, balconies and terraces have waterfront views and of the surrounding hillsides. Working fireplaces, a sauna, outdoor kitchen and pool house are other features.

 $100 million

Albemarle House

Charlottesville, Va.

The $100 million Albemarle House is another newcomer to the list.

Situated on 300 acres, and neighboring Monticello and Ash Lawn-Highland, the eight-bedroom Georgian home was designed by architect/designer David Easton.

Also on the property: a barn, three-car garage and guest house.

Forbes Magazine

Don’t expect your property taxes to go down, at least not now. But the Santa Fe County Assessor’s Office announced Friday that it has completed its valuation of the mansion built by Andrew and Sydney Davis on a ridgetop off of Hyde Park Road.

The land and 23,337-square-foot residence — nearly as big as the Southside Branch Library — are worth $20.4 million, according to the county. And that means an estimated $131,765 in property taxes will be flowing annually into county coffers for distribution to schools and local governments.

The house was finished more than a year ago, but it’s taken that long to appraise. Back in August, County Assessor Domingo Martinez complained there had been some foot-dragging on the part of the owners in providing information about costs.

But determining the market value of the unique, 11-acre estate was complicated because, “It’s probably the most expensive residential property in New Mexico,” Martinez said.

There’s nothing like it in the state in terms of size and quality. And to find comparable sales on which to base their valuation, appraisers had to look elsewhere in the West — to high-end communities such as Scottsdale Ariz., and Vail and Aspen, Colo.

Frank Herdman, an attorney for the Davises, said the owner’s appraisal came up with a different value, but he doubted there would be any protest.

“We appreciate the fact that the county put a lot of hard work into the process and we’re pleased it’s over,” Herdman said.

Notices of value for properties already on the tax rolls went out in April. The 2009 tax bills were mailed on Nov. 1 and are due within 30 days.

The Davises have been paying taxes on their land, which is valued at about $1.5 million, while the county has been working to appraise the improvements.

“They have paid all taxes when due and will pay all taxes when due,” Herdman said.

“I think they’re satisfied with what they received,” Martinez said, but he added that they, like all other property owners, are entitled to protest.

While Martinez admits some other properties in the county have gone unnoticed (or untaxed), the size and location of the Davis mansion has drawn constant scrutiny. The Santa Fe Review’s webcam was trained on the site off and on during the years of construction.

Davis is president of Davis Select Advisers, L.P., an investment company and portfolio manager for other real estate funds.

The county’s valuation process was complex and relied on many of the most sophisticated tools and databases available to appraisers. “You can’t just hold your thumb up like a painter,” Martinez said. “Because it was exceptional, getting it on the tax rolls took more time than usual.”

Gus Martinez, the senior appraiser who led the process, looked at homes in the Rocky Mountain West between 9,400 square feet and 15,000 square feet that sold for between $9.5 million and $36 million. Not including the land, the properties ranged between $633 per square foot and a high of $1,400, he said.

The median price of the comparable sales considered was $21.2 million, he said.

He also took into consideration something called “superadequacy.” That’s a measure of how overbuilt a property is for its setting. It could include things like more than one kitchen or an excess of bathrooms. But it brings down market value somewhat.

“There are only so many people in the world who can shop in that market. That reduces its marketability,” explained deputy assessor Victor Baca.

Putting the Davis house on the tax rolls won’t immediately lower the taxes of other Santa Feans. Down the road, it could — in theory. Adding new value means the cost of operating government and schools, and things like paying interest on bonds, can be spread out among more property owners. But taxes come down only if the agencies which receive property tax revenues don’t raise their budgets. And those traditionally go up every year.

“Everything is a moving target,” Domingo Martinez said.

Anne Constable | The New Mexican

The range is from a quarter acre to over 5 acres, averaging about 1.5 acres. The prevailing architectural styles are Pueblo Revival and Territorial with variations that expand the range from contemporary to western rustic to Mediterranean influence. One story homes are the norm with flat rooves that allow for positive pitch for drainagage. The flexibility of the design guidelines allows for your personal expression.

The Estancias at Las Campanas is an area where the design guidelines have been expanded to include log homes, pitched roofs and second stories. Here the topography with its unlimited views and canyon vistas over looks open federal land and slopes gently to the Rio Grande.

Surrounded by adobe walls reminiscent of the old East Side of Santa Fe, Club Estates enjoys a superb location within walking distance of the Clubhouse and Spa and Tennis Center.

Directly across from the Spa and Tennis Center are the 12 homesites of Silver Mesa sited on 3 cul de sacs. Here semi custom homes built by Roger Hunter for Senterra Corp. are available for purchase, several sitting high above the golf course.

Lining the golf course, the Club Casitas are the ultimate in lock and leave convenience, being the closest homes to the Clubhouse. They range from 2100 square feet to 3665 square feet and all offer golf course and mountain views, with some overlooking the spectacular lake between the two 18 finishing holes. All feature outdoor portals with fireplaces for enjoying the serene landscape.

High atop Trailhead Dr. with magnificent views of both golf course and mountain ranages sit The Pueblos, 37 homes surrounding a park and behind their own gate. They vary from aproximately 2800 square feet to 4200 square feet in size, some featuring guest houses.

Across Trailhead Dr. is Park Estates which isby golf course and centered by a park. Lot sizes range from .6 acres to 1.85 acre homesites which are suitable for custom building. Resale homes are also available for purchase here.

The Terrazas, developed by Westman- Browning and built by Tierra Concepts. They range in size from 2390 square feet to just over 2500 square feet. Offering a variety of views from golf course, to open land, all have a mountain backdrop and enjoy a convenient location close to the core of the community and its amenities.

Aptly named, the Ranch Estates is a unique enclave bordered by ranch land and incorporating the Equestrian Center. Here 27 lots are zoned to include a home, guest house and barn to accomodate two horses. An interior trail connects each homesite to the Equestrian Center and the main trail to the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) which afford you 68,000 acres of riding terrain.

Surrounded by golf course, Los Santeros features a variety of lot sizes and home sizes from large estate homes to smaller patio homes. Neighborhoods with the area include the Villas, Puertas, Ventanas, and Las Melodias.

The remaining neighborhoods are called Estates and are identified by numbers corresponding to the order of their development. Here existing and undeveloped homesites are situated behind gates and offer a variety of topography and views.  Home sizes must be a minimum of 2500 square feet but can be as large as the developable area will allow. Guest houses are permissible.

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The action is another important step in the Aamodt case filed 43 years ago to settle the water-rights claims by Nambé, Tesuque, Pojoaque and San Ildefonso pueblos. The pueblos, the state, the city of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County in 2006 reached a settlement that needs congressional approval. This year, Congress has steadily advanced legislation to ratify and fund the settlement, but no final act has been passed. Some of the nonpueblo landowners in the valley with domestic wells have fought against the settlement for years and continue to oppose portions of it.

Meanwhile, the federal district court must finalize the priority dates on acequias in the valley as part of the settlement. Priority dates were given by the state to more than 70 streams in the area and people with water rights had an opportunity to ask for a change in the date.

Priority dates on irrigation ditches are a critical part of New Mexico’s water law and the wheeling and dealing by cities and developers over water rights. New Mexico follows a “first in time, first in right” approach to water — the first person, or ditch, to use water beneficially has the senior claim on the water. The ditches with the oldest priority dates receive their water first off a stream.

The pueblos are recognized as the first people in the valley to use water for farming and other uses, so they have first rights to water.

Priority dates on the acequias in the Pojoaque Valley range from 1728 within the Rio Tesuque to 1907 on parts of the Rio en Medio. Gerald Peters, for example, believes the priority dates on several irrigation ditches fed by the Rio en Medio should be older than the those given by the state. The state gave the Questa Ditch a 1907 priority date; Peters believes it should be 1899.

According to a legal notice published Friday in The New Mexican, people who have challenged their ditch’s priority date and those who want to challenge any changes have until Dec. 31 to file notice they intend to participate in the court proceedings. They must also attend a pretrial conference Jan. 13 with the special master reviewing the priority dates. This is the only opportunity people with surface water rights will have to participate in the adjudication of priority rights, according to the state. Anyone who doesn’t participate won’t be able to object later.

Staci Matlock | The New Mexican

 The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.43 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.37 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.72 percent.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.40 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.38 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.06 percent.

The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.54 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.60 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.23 percent.

“Following bond yields, long-term mortgages rates edged up slightly this week,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Although rates for 5/1 ARMs and traditional 1-year ARMs are around half a percentage point below 30-year fixed mortgages, consumers appear to be seeking the stability of fixed-rate mortgages. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, ARMs averaged only about 6 percent of the number of mortgage applications in September and October thus far.”

“The housing market is still trying to recover in the second half of the year. The Federal Reserve reported in its October 21st regional economic review that housing market conditions improved in recent weeks, primarily from a pickup in sales of low-to medium-priced houses. However, residential construction activity was reported to remain weak in most areas. New construction of single family homes rebounded in September, rising at a 3.9 percent annual rate, but did not erase all of the declines set in August, based on figures released by the Department of Commerce. Moreover, homebuilder confidence, as measured by the National Association of Homebuilder’s Housing Market Index, fell slightly in October and marked the first decline since January of this year.”