Another tiny dent soon will been made in the repayment of the funds owed to those duped by Bernie Madoff. His 3,000-square-foot Montauk, N.Y., beach house sold this week in an all-cash deal for more than the $8.75 million asking price. Neither the buyer's name nor the exact amount of the sale has been released. The four-bedroom, three-bath home is located on 182 feet of prime beach property.

The house was only on the market a few weeks. See more about the house, and more photos, in this story my colleague Deidre did on September 1, and check out this New York Times slideshow.

Up, down and back up again, I'm noticing a strange trend in high-end real estate that might, just might, be a sign of increased real estate exuberance. Some of the most expensive homes with the biggest price dips are suddenly reversing the trend, amending previous discounts. Case in point, Greg Norman's Jupiter Island, Florida home. It first hit the market for $65 million in 2007 which seemed a bit ridiculous considering that it had been assessed at just $21 million and Norman and his ex-wife had bought the home in 1991 for only $4.9 million. Therefore it wasn't a huge surprise when the price went tumbling down to $47.5 million. But what's this? A peek at the listing with Corcoran reveals Norman has boosted the price again, all the way back up to $60 million. Why the price increase? It could herald a resurgence of Florida's high end real estate. It's definitely a reflection of the work he spent renovating the home. But while the price has gone back up the listing pictures remain the same so we can only imagine what Norman did to the place.

As the Real Deal pointed out last month, if Norman gets his asking price it would set a record price for a property on the island, a record currently held by fellow golfer Tiger Woods who spent over $40 million for a home he tore down to create a new family compound. After an acrimonious divorce, Norman married tennis star Chris Evert and the two now live in her Florida home. Norman plays on the senior's golf tour and also has various golf course projects as well as his own wine label, clothing line and other businesses. Norman's ex-wife Laura Andrassy is entitled to $17.5 million in proceeds from the eventual sale of the house.

Norman's golf paradise includes nine bedrooms over six structures. The estate is eight acres with a four-bedroom main house that was built in 1902 and has wine storage for 2,500 bottles. The main house overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway with 370 feet of waterfront, and a 140-foot dock that can accommodate a large yacht. A two-bedroom guest house faces the Atlantic and has an open porch for taking in the ocean views. There is also a grill house with a tennis court and a 50-foot pool. The listing says the estate comes with a coach house, with a four-car garage and three bedrooms and a carriage house which as a six-car garage, gym, steam room, boardroom and offices. A boat shed will also hold seven vehicles.

You have 320 choices if you're looking for a home that costs more than $20 million – though if you're smart, you shouldn't have to pay nearly that much. Why? As you'd expect, real estate agents are having trouble moving these houses, so they are staying on the market for a while, and age doesn't do much for a property's value.

The top listing right now belongs to Aaron Spelling's widow – at least until she can sell it. This is a difficult proposition, however, with a price tag of $150 million. Four years ago, the highest price on the market was half what Spelling is asking. This year, $75 million isn't good enough to make the top 10.

Since the number of listings is up, you'd expect sales to be down ... and that's how it's working out. In the Hamptons, year-over-year sales were off 43 percent in the second quarter, with the median price down 17 percent. Homeowners who can't sell are trying to rent instead, with mixed results. Joseph Farrell, who has a home in Bridgehampton, would like to sell it for $59.5 million. Until that happens, he has to be content to rent it, which he's doing now at $425,000 for two weeks.

So, if homes aren't moving, why continue to price them above $20 million? The answer is as old as consciousness: vanity. An absurd price is guaranteed to get some attention (as I've just demonstrated).

The estate of iconic Beat writer Jack Kerouac is in flux following the news that a Florida judge has ruled that his mother's will was a fake. Kerouac's mother Gabrielle died in 1973 just four years after her son who died in 1969 from complications of alcoholism. Gabrielle Kerouac left her son's assets to his third wife, Stella Sampas Kerouac and so for the last three decades the Sampas family has had control of Jack Kerouac's manuscripts, letters and personal belongings. When Stella Sampas Kerouac died in 1990 she left the estate to her siblings. The family has profited off the Kerouac legacy, selling Jack Kerouac's raincoat to Johnny Depp for $50,000 and selling the original manuscript scroll of "On the Road" to the owner of the Indianapolis Colts for $2.43 million in addition to authorizing various publications of letters and other documents.

Jack Kerouac's daughter, Jan, first challenged the will in 1994 but she died two years later. Paul Blake Jr., the writer's nephew, has carried on the litigation.Now that Sixth Judicial Circuit Court, Judge George W. Greer has ruled that the will was a forgery, a major change is certain to come. The future of the Kerouac estate and its current value remains uncertain. No one seems to know how many of Kerouac's belongings the Sampas family still has and what their potential value might be. While Jan Kerouac had wanted to see her father's works in a library, the Sampas family is said to have turned down offers from various universities in favor of selling off various items piecemeal. The estate should be worth millions which could change the life of Blake, Kerouac's closest relative, who has spent most of his life in poverty.

Settle in with a cup of coffee on your Saturday morning, we've got a picture-ific update to the endless saga that is Nicolas Cage's real estate listings. His home on Copa de Oro Road in Bel Air, California has been on and off and back on the market several times. But as the Real Estalker says, he looks serious this time, cutting his price down to $17.5 million, neatly half of what he was asking back in September 2007 but still healthily above the $6.469 million he paid in 1998. The new listing has a gorgeous tour from Westside Estate Agency.

The pics reveal a lot more than we have seen of the house before. I've always known that Nicolas Cage is a bit of a collector but this house showcases the many things that he has amassed over the years. The framed comic books and even the giant Mickey Mouse in the casual dining room were no surprise but the huge amethyst geode was a bit of a shocker. Over at the Real Estalker Mama's place there's been quite a discussion over the decor. It's a crazy pastiche of objects, Cage is a collector who has never had to restrain himself with thoughts of budget. Rather than restricting himself to theme rooms, he has combined different styles and time periods in a way that seems more Charles Foster Kane than middle-aged movie star. The resulting spectacle is far from being a cozy domicile but it is definitely worth a look.

One of Frank Lloyd Wright's most ambitious homes, the 1924 Ennis House in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles has been put up for sale. The home on a hilltop has a striking composition of patterned and smooth concrete blocks that give it the apeparance of an ancient temple. The private foundation that has been restoring the home has put it up for sale for $15 million. The LA Times reports that Eric Lloyd Wright, the architect's grandson and a member of the nonprofit Ennis House Foundation's board,has said that the board decided that private ownership would be the best way to save the house. The house was donated to a nonprofit trust in 1980 and the foundation began its restoration in 2005. The home had sustained damage both from rain and the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

You may have seen this one in the movies including "House on Haunted Hill," "Grand Canyon" and "Blade Runner." The home is not exactly in move in condition. The LA Times article states that the new owner is also facing a projected repair bill of $5 million to $7 million. But whoever does take on the project will be getting an incredible one-of-kind home that is a California State Landmark.

The main house includes a billiards room with a bar and open fireplace, an incredible elevated dining room with a massive fireplace and a living room with art glass windows. The listing says that the glass-tile mosaic fireplace in the living room is one of only three ever created and the last remaining intact example in any Wright residence. The home is on around a half an acre and includes a pool which is set against a long loggia that connects the public areas with the private rooms include the master bedroom, a guest room and an upper terrace.

In addition to the repair costs, the new owner will also have to agree to a conservation easement, to be held by the Los Angeles Conservancy to allow at least some public access to the house but that's the price of living in such a historic home.

The home is the largest of Wright's four textile-block homes. Another, the Millard House in Pasadena, is listed at $7.733 million an was previously our estate of the day.

Rapper 50 Cent is figuring out that Mike Tyson's Farmington, Connecticut mansion wasn't such a great purchase after all. The performer, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, recently testified in Hartford Superior Court as part of his lawsuit against BVH Integrated Services, an engineering firm that he hired to inspect the 52-room home before he bought it. The company was supposed to find out how much it would cost to repair the home.

Tyson's ex wife originally wanted $25 million but 50 Cent bought it for $4.1 million. The company's estimated that 50 Cent would have to spend around $500,000 in repairs but he ended up spending $6 million on repairs and renovations about half of which went to things which 50 Cent's lawyers say should have been included in the original estimate. BVH attorney Michael Byrne said that 50 Cent's lavish upgrades made the difference and that the estimators are not responsible for the difference.

The house may be huge but it isn't high quality according to witness testimony. A contractor hired by BVH to conduct the 2003 inspection testified that it was not a "mansion-quality" house. 50 Cent put the mansion up for sale in 2007 for $18.5 million and dropped the price down to $14.5 million but he said this week that the house is no longer for sale.

UPDATE: 50 Cent has settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.

Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman's island retreat has been put up for auction. The AFP reports that his home on the Swedish island of Faro is estimated to be worth up to four million euros and that offers in that range have been coming in.

This location's light and stillness lent much to the films that Bergman shot there including ­"Persona," "The Shame," and "The Passion of Anna." The listing with Christie's Great Estates quotes Bergman's memoir in which he says, after visiting the island for the first time in 1960: "If one wished to be solemn, it could be said that I had found my real home; if one wished to be light hearted, it could be said that it was love at first sight."

The property on the remote and rugged island has four buildings. Hammars is the main house which was designed by architect Kjell Abramson with Bergman himself. The two-room writing lodge has an ocean view and was seen in the final sequence of the iconic television drama "Scenes from a Marriage." Angen is the winter retreat house with three bedrooms and a living room with a large fireplace and Damba, a restored 1854 farmhouse is next to a whitewashed barn which served as Bergman's private cinema.

A Swedish foundation wanted to buy the house and turn the house into a museum dedicated to his life and work but they didn't have enough money. Bergman died in 2007 at the age of 89 and the property is owned by his estate.

[Thanks, Lana]

Businesspeople turned arts philanthropists Donald and Shelley Rubin take their love of the arts into the design of their living spaces. As the New York Observer's Manhattan Transfers reports the pair have listed their design-centric brick townhouse at 122 East 70th Street for $20.2 million. The house reportedly cost $5.18 million when they bought it in 1995 and was given a striking design by Samuel Botero. The home celebrates the couple's predilection for Tibetan art with details like a dragon and phoenix rug that changes color as it winds up the staircases in the home, a medallion of the horn of plenty done in semiprecious stones on the kitchen floor and one of the most startling modern fireplace mantels around, carved and polished alabaster that swirls and folds like draped fabric. More amazing pictures can be found on Botero's website.

The home includes a roof deck with a kitchen, three terraces, a backyard garden and many gorgeous rooms spread out over five stories. There is a beautiful wood paneled library, two full kitchens with a dumb waiter, a hot-tub on the fifth floor, an elevator and more. It is listed at $20.2 million.

Luxist reader Chris led me to a Boston Globe story on a prime piece of Massachusetts land for sale. Codman Point is a private waterfront compound located at the head of Buzzards Bay. It is on the market for the first time in 137 years. Back in 1872 the Codman family bought the 25-acre peninsula for just $800. They are making quite a return on their investment since it is now listed for $7.7 million.

The property has four homes, a deepwater dock, tennis court and boathouse. When the Codman family bought in 1872 the peninsula had a small hotel that provided shelter to fishermen. Two of the houses were designed at the turn of the 20th century by architect Guy Lowell. The Point House has eight bedrooms and faces the ocean but has no heat because it was to be used as a summer home. The other Lowell house is the Bungalow, another unheated home which features a wraparound porch.

The peninsula includes five beaches and in the past the extended Codman clan would spend entire summers there. But times have changed, the family is spread out and most people don't summer like that anymore. While the property could remain intact as private compound it is more likely that it will be bought by someone who could divide it into seven or eight different lots which is a bit of a shame. Having grown up on Cape Cod, I know just how little relatively unspoiled land remains in southeastern Massachusetts.

Last November I mentioned that Michael Vick's Atlanta home was for sale. No buyers were found and now the home will be up for sale on Tuesday, March 10 with a minimum bid of $3.2 million in order to satisfy some of Vick's outstanding debts. Vick, who played football for the Atlanta Falcons, is still in jail serving out his sentence for his role in a dogfighting scandal.

He was last asking $4.1 million for the home in the Sugarloaf Country Club in Duluth, Georgia. The eight-bedroom home has lake views and a grand look with two-story foyer with a curved double staircase and dome, a two-story study, a home theater, wet bar and a gymnasium. The only sign of VIckness is that big number seven set into the den floor. Vick bought for the home for $3.78 million in 2005..

The AP took a tour of the home checking out the elevator, and the bottom floor which included Vick's simulated golf game, weight room, and mini theater. He also converted a bathroom into his own personal barber shop. It's a dramatic testament to a story of the American dream gone wrong. Vick moved in to the house around the time that he landed what was then the richest contract in NFL history. Now he has seen many of his possessions sold off and when he is done serving his sentence he will face a whole new reality.

A video tour is after the jump.

UPDATE: The house was not sold. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution only two bidders showed up and neither had a qualifying bid.

Xavier-Louis Vuitton, part of the Vuitton handbag family has put a sporting estate in Scotland for sale. The Dalchully Estate at Laggan Inverness-shire is on the market as a whole or in four lots seeking offers over £4.25 million. Xavier-Louis Vuitton also owns Gaick Estate in Inverness-shire. He bought the Dalchully Estate in 2002 when it was listed for offers over £1.9 million and owns it through Eighton Investments, a holding company registered in Dublin. Since acquiring the real estate, Eighton Investments has spent around £1 million on improvements to the lodge and other buildings. The Highland property would appeal to those interested in conservation as well as those with interests in hunting and fishing. The real estate agent reports that even though the property just hit the market there have already been expressions of interest.

A million-and-a-half dollars just doesn't go as far as it used to ... unless you consider moving to gentle Smyrna, Del., in the the First State -- home of tax-free shopping -- to scoop up this one-year-old home set on five acres with a pond. Selling for what Luxist readers might consider a bargain-basement price of $1,490,000, the home was created by a custom builder for himself. It features five bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, five fireplaces, a home theater, soapstone countertops, a pastry cabinet with a cooling rack, and an exercise room and sauna. The property also includes an inground pool, carriage house, decks, and a hot tub. The taxes are a low $1,847 a year.

See the gallery for more photos, or click the continued link, below.

[Thanks, R & J!]

For many New Yorkers, realizing you've grown up happens when you take stock and note that you finally have enough money for a home outside the city (read: more than two rooms), you need or want more space, and you cannot stand apartment living one second longer. Enter Westchester, the suburb that offers space and upscale living but is close to the heart of NYC via a train ride on Metro-North.

Here's one option: This 1904 Milton Point Colonial, situated on 2.55 acres in Rye City, N.Y., offers 6,963 square feet, 14 rooms (seven BR, 5.5 BA), a shoreline pool and spa, two-car garage, alarm system, deck, eat-in kitchen, fireplace, high ceilings, skylights, walkout basement, and wet bar. Taxes are $112,675. Asking price: $7,595,000.

Click on the photo to see the listing sheet. Or, go to Houlihan Lawrence and enter either Web ID QD411021 or MLS # 2819330.

Click the continued link to see all the photos, or view the gallery.

New items from France have been added to Horchow's very exclusive Estate Collection.

For the uninitiated, The Estate Collection is a smattering of one-of-a-kind collectibles from all over the world. The beautiful item you see at right is an iron scale from France, circa 1900. It just sold for $850.

There are still more beautiful new French items available, including candlesticks, serving bowls, and more. See the gallery below for items still available at time of post, and be sure to snap up anything you like right away; you're not likely to find items from The Estate Collection ever again.