Seller Stands Ground on $125 Million Mansion

"Pricing today is a bigger challenge than it has ever been because the successful seller has to be priced close enough to what the current market is to entice people to look at the property, but at the same time they have got to price it at a point where they are willing to still take a further discount. Very few people are willing to pay at or near full price today. A lot of people think that the buyers are smarter than ever. I would agree with that. But I think the buyers are grasping for where the market is and they feel more comfortable if they have gotten a discount off of the list price."

Overall, Carr said transactions are down. But higher-priced sales, even within the luxury market, are starting to rebound.

"In comparing the first six months of this year with the same time period last year, you are seeing about a third fewer sales," he said. "Again, in both years, the preponderance of sales were in the $5 million to $10 million range. Last year, I am aware of approximately five sales in the $10 million to $20 million range. There have been none this year."