Alex Rodriguez hamstrung by housing slump

Future Hall of Famer Alex Rodriguez is having some trouble (subscription required) selling a couple homes as he and his estranged wife Cynthia divvy up their assets in preparation for their divorce. In the fall they listed their Coral Gables, Florida home at $14.9 million. Now they've slashed the price to $12.3 million -- meaning they'll be facing a hefty after-expenses loss on the home they paid $12 million for in 2004. And that's assuming they're able to get something close to the new asking price for it. If you're in the market for a Coral Gables estate, you can take a look at the listing (and schedule a showing) here.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez is also trying to sell a Manhattan apartment for $10 million. He was originally looking to get $14 million.

Few people will be wasting their tears on the highest-paid player in baseball history, but A-Rod's saga does contain an important cautionary tale for homesellers: By pricing his homes too high in a declining market, Mr. Rodriguez was forced to slash the prices -- after they sat on the market for months while the market declined. By being greedy, he's now going to end up getting less than he would have had he priced them competitively from the get-go.