High-End Homes' Wobble Is Trouble

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Nov. 17 at 8:55 a.m. EST. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers.

"High-end homes always hold up." There's a bogus shibboleth. However, the data about how expensive homes are really selling right now are scarce, and as many commentators have noted, you can't get a straight answer out of the realty business.

But take a look at a release that came out Wednesday from a small company, American Real Estate Partners(ACP Quote), a Carl Icahn-controlled company that builds expensive homes, among other real estate ventures:

AREP has been marketing for sale portions of its net lease portfolio, and accordingly, carries such properties as "discontinued operations" in its financial statements. For the three months ended September 30, 2005, AREP sold no properties. For the three months ended September 30, 2004, AREP sold 12 properties for proceeds of $13.9 million and recorded a gain from discontinued operations of $9.3 million.

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