Not exactly immune in Laguna Niguel

Here is a property 99.9% of us can only dream about. It's an amazing home in a great location - Laguna Niguel's Monarch Point. Custom house; expansive ocean view...the whole package. So why is it being offered for sale at a huge loss?

31951 Monarch Crst, 92677
Asking price: $6,199,000
Asking price/ sq ft: $886
Purchase price: $6,740,000
Purchase date: 12/12/05
Size: 4 beds, 5 baths, 7,000 sq ft (built in 2002)
MLS: U8005331 (103 days on Redfin)
ZipRealty price tracker: Price Reduced: 01/14/09 -- $6,699,000 to $6,199,000
Zillow Zestimate: $4,422,000
HOA dues: $459
Type: Single Family Residence
Style: French
Stories: 3+
Lot size: 10,427 Sq. Ft.
From listing: Stunning and luxurious ocean view custom estate in Monarch Point. Perched high above Laguna Beach with panoramic ocean views from Dana Point to Los Angeles. Unique amenities in this approx. 7,000 square foot home include 6 fireplaces, 3000 bottle wine cellar, 9-car garage, elevator, sparkling pool & spa and outdoor loggia with fireplace.

As one might expect, there are very few people out there with the capacity to buy this property, so we would expect it could easily take many months to a year or more to find a buyer. For comparison, this property sold in less than two months from the time it came onto the market in August 2005.

This time, the estate (it just doesn't feel right calling it a "house") has been on the market for more than three months, and the asking price has been reduced by $500,000 or 7%.

We say the wine cellar is reason alone to save the $100 dollar bills to buy this place:
Oh, and the view does not suck either:
Assuming an eventual sale for the full asking price, it would be $541,000 or 8% below the 2005 price. Considering the dollar amounts involved, it is extremely likely that the owner is going to absorb the entire loss. If we were to deduct 6% for sales costs, the loss would be closer to $912,000.