Who Wants To Live Next To A Celebrity?

"At the Meridian, a condominium tower that opened last month on New York's Long Island, the asking price for two-bedroom units on a high floor with beach views is $1.8 million.

Unless you're Billy Crystal.

The actor, who grew up on Long Island, has been offered one of those two-bedrooms for $1.6 million. The offerer: the building's marketing agent, who thinks Mr. Crystal's name would help to sell units.

'You need to find innovative ways to sell apartments these days,' says the agent, Michael Shvo, who has yet to hear back from the actor.

They've been on the freebie train for years, from gratis designer fashions to restaurant tabs that never materialize. Now, America's celebrities are on the receiving end of another shopping break the rest of us don't get: a real-estate discount. With a growing number of luxury condominiums coming onto the market in New York, Las Vegas and Miami, developers are quietly offering price cuts or sweetened deals to famous faces -- from former Miami Dolphins' quarterback Dan Marino and model Naomi Campbell to actors Jeremy Piven and Mickey Rourke. The practice is an increasingly important marketing tool to attract full-price buyers in the condominium market, a field some investors worry is becoming overbuilt and attracting a disproportionate number of speculators."