In August , I wrote the post: Why would it take over a year to sell a Los Angeles home?   I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the current status of the same twelve La Canada, La Crescenta, Pasadena and Glendale homes which in August (2008) were on the market for over one year:

                                                       As of August 2008
                                                                        
As of January 2008, only two of the twelve homes have sold:

The first three homes were taken off the market, no further price reductions, no sale.
The Adams Square home finally sold after 459 days on the market; selling price: $460,000
The fifth home was taken off the market, no further price reduction, no sale.
The La Crescenta home has been reduced to $785,000 and is still on the market (now 556 days)
The seventh home was taken off the market, no further price reduction, no sale.
The Linda Vista home was leased for $5,200 after 502 days on the market
The Northeast Pasadena home sold for $439,000 (over $100,000 less than asking price) after 561 days on the market
The Pasadena Southwest home was further reduced to $4,495,000 and taken off the market after 933 days without selling
The Pasadena Southeast home was reduced to $588,000 and then withdrawn from the market
The Pasadena Ritz Carlton home remains on the market (825 days) at the $19,000,000 asking price

The moral of the story is that if you want to sell your home you must price it to sell. The value of your home is not based on how much money you have invested in it, how much you "need" out of it, what it appraised for during refinancing or what your neighbor’s home sold for last year. The market value of your  home is what a buyer is willing to pay based on today's market, available financing and current economic conditions.  And, when you do price your home to sell it usually sells for the highest possible price and quite often in a multiple offer situation (yes! even today).