Silicon Valley Mansions Linger on Market in Real Estate Slowdown

  • Palo Alto homes of more than $5 million taking longer to sell
  • Fewer Chinese buyers, stock-market turmoil fuel the decline

A custom-built home in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley had its price cut by $500,000 last week after sitting on the market since the end of March -- a move that would’ve been almost unfathomable a year ago and a signal that frenzied demand has peaked.

The six-bedroom, five-bath house in Palo Alto -- located blocks from Stanford University and the homes of Google co-founder Larry Page and Steve Jobs’s widow, Laurene Powell Jobs -- is now listed for $7.5 million. It joins a growing inventory of high-end homes in the area that are taking longer to sell.