Former McCain residence struggles to find a buyer

Back in August, Senator John McCain raised a few eyebrows when he confessed to not knowing how many houses he owned.

Now an investor who purchased his former home in Phoenix, Arizona is struggling to find a buyer. The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that the asking price on the mansion has been reduced from $12 million to $10 million. The renovator-investor has been trying to sell it since last summer, and even tried an auction that failed to attract a successful bid.

The home had been in Cindy McCain's family since it was built in 1951, but they sold it in 2006 in what appears to have been a stroke of remarkably good timing, given that Phoenix has been among the hardest-hit real estate markets in the country.

The home may still be overpriced. Real estate developer Jane Popple only paid $3 million for the home in 2006 and even with all the renovations she put into it -- The Wall Street Journal reported that those included a "seven-car garage, a wine-tasting room, an exercise room, refurbished bathrooms and a guest house."

It seems unlikely that those renovations added $7 million to the home's value, especially not in this market.