Mr. Kravitz's principal collaborator has been Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, who did Mr. Kravitz's penthouse - Lucite grand piano, Donald Deskey pool table - and worked on the New Orleans place and the Bahamian beach house Mr. Kravitz is building with a local architect, Jackson Burnside. Mr. Noriega-Ortiz, who is not involved in the Kravitz Design venture, schooled his client in eclecticism: that midcentury could also mean mid-18th-century.

As for his client's design skills, Mr. Noriega-Ortiz is generous. "He knows styles and proportions and color," he said. "And the shopping was great." And as a potential competitor? "I don't know how he'd mold his design to other people's taste," he said.

For sure! Remember the leaky toilet in Kravitz's extravagantly self-decorated Crosby Street loft, which caused trouble for the rocker's neighbors?

By the way ... Rick Marin?

According to real-estate sources, Mr. Kravitz, 40, was close to inking a deal after a buyer made an offer on the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom duplex, custom-designed by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, in April. Apparently, though, the deal didn't play out, and the apartment is now being marketed with a new, discounted asking price. Mr. Kravitz's broker, Andrea Wohl Lucas of Douglas Elliman, wouldn't comment on whether a deal had fallen through or on what prompted Mr. Kravitz to reduce the price by $1 million.

By now, Mr. Kravitz must be used to dropping the price to lure potential buyers to his penthouse in the Loft, a former 19th-century paper factory at 30 Crosby Street, between Broome and Grand streets, which was converted into 13 loft apartments in 2000 following a $25 million renovation. The trendy building, complete with an aromatherapy lobby designed by Mr. Noriega-Ortiz, ushered in a revolving-door parade of celebrity home shoppers that included Liv Tyler, Claudia Schiffer, Rosie O'Donnell, Mike Piazza and Cindy Crawford, all of whom toured apartments there; in 2001, Ben Stiller used a third-floor model apartment as a shooting location for his fashion satire, Zoolander .

In October 2000, Mr. Kravitz bought his apartment at the Loft for $8 million, and he first listed it for $17 million in July 2002, before dropping the price to $14.95 million in 2003. Later that year, in October 2003, the four-time Grammy Award–winning musician lopped an additional $1 million off the asking price, hoping to lure a flush tenant. Now, if he does sell at $12.95 million, the buyer will score one of Manhattan's most extravagant penthouses at nearly a 25 percent discount from its original price. (Take that, Bloomingdale's!)

Along with its five bedrooms and private guest wing, the apartment features a billiards room, ceilings stretching to 30 feet, a suspended glass staircase à la the Apple Store, and a 3,000-square-foot outdoor terrace with a built-in barbecue.

Although the torrid demand for luxury real estate continues apace, Mr. Kravitz isn't the only A-list homeowner who has tried-and failed-to unload a prize property in this heady market. On May 14, Edie Falco listed her West Village townhouse at 97 Barrow Street for $3.75 million, and last week the Sopranos star slashed $300,000 off the asking price. That's nearly a 10 percent discount for the 18-foot-wide home that covers 2,592 square feet and has seven rooms, wide-plank flooring and a private rear garden.

Recent Transactions in the Real Estate Market

Upper West Side

157 West 78th Street

One-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom co-op.

Asking: $785,000. Selling: $785,000.

Maintenance: $957; 50 percent tax-deductible.

Time on the market: three months.

ABSENTEE SELLER The photographer who owned this prewar Upper West Side co-op had held onto his New York perch while he was off documenting Native American tribes for an upcoming book. But recently, when the tenant who was renting the 1,200-square-foot one-bedroom moved out, the co-op board instructed the gentleman, who now lives in airy Santa Fe, N.M., to sell the place after he had been renting it for the past six years. "The co-op board said it was time," said Judy Maysles, a broker with Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy who represented the seller. The photographer found a young Russian couple from San Francisco who were drawn to the West Side's family-friendly feel and the apartment's unique floor plan, which included two mini-staircases that created a split-level layout. The floor-through apartment had a living room with a fireplace that was accessed by five stairs near the front entrance, with the bedroom set down a small flight of stairs in the rear. "They liked the quirkiness of it," said Ms. Maysles, "and they need to do a renovation to update the finish. They plan to add a second bedroom." Daria Saraf of the Corcoran Group represented the buyers.

Gramercy Park

280 Park Avenue South

One-bedroom, one-bathroom condo.

Asking: $625,000. Selling: $607,000.

Charges $458. Taxes: $6,252.

Time on the market: two weeks.

LE BEAU GENT GRAMERCY You don't know a perfect match until you see it, and that's what this Wall Street buyer discovered after viewing more than 20 apartments in his recent hunt to buy a Manhattan perch. "He wanted to be an educated buyer," said Jacky Teplitzky of Douglas Elliman, who represented the number-cruncher. The single gentleman had been renting in Gramercy for five years, and he looked in the Village before deciding to return to the refined neighborhood and snag this south-facing apartment on Park Avenue South at East 22nd Street. "The problem with the West Village is that there aren't many condos-it's co-ops there, and he wanted a condo," said Ms. Teplitzky. The 630-square-foot spread had a renovated kitchen as well as California Closets, a favorite of the Crate and Barrel set. The building's amenities include a gym with a pool, private storage and a full-time doorman. Sharon Nussbaum, also of Douglas Elliman, represented the sellers.

Park Slope

431 11th Street

Two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom townhouse.

Asking: $805,000. Selling: $785,000.

Time on the market: 40 days.

VINTAGESLOPE For longtime New York residents who remember the modest prices of outer- borough living, it might come as a shock that the going rate for a Brooklyn brownstone now hovers north of $1 million. The soaring Brooklyn prices have discouraged those wanting townhouse privacy, but for this lucky couple who were renting in Carroll Gardens, they discovered a sliver of a Park Slope townhouse that they could snap up for a modest-by current market standards-six-figure sum. "They were willing to find a fixer-upper, but you can't find a fixer-upper for under a million anymore," said exclusive broker Dannie King of the Corcoran Group. "This was a real find." The seller, a telecommunications executive with Verizon, relocated to a single-floor condo nearby so his elderly mother could visit without having to schlep up and down the stairs. He left behind a newly renovated 14-foot-wide townhouse that was built in 1901 and had modern appliances such as a washer-dryer, a filtered hot-and-cold-water sink, a Jacuzzi bath, custom cabinetry in the kitchen and a split-level deck. The new owners plan to convert the pantry into a wine cellar to stock their extensive collection of fine vintages, but that was all they needed to touch up the place. "They didn't need to do anything; it was gut-renovated," Ms. King said.