By Kevin Chiu
Movie actor Nicolas Cage sold his Middletown, Rhode Island estate at a loss of $9.5-million 
as the Oscar winning star of more than a dozen major box office hits suffers massive losses in the real estate collapse.
Cage purchased the 27-acre estate for $15.7-million at the height of the real estate bubble in July 2007 before encountering financial problems in a series of real estate investments. The mansion sold for $6.2-million, according to public records. The actor had been trying to unload the “Gray Craig Manor House” since 2008. It was listed at $7.75-million.
The stone mansion, built in 1924 was used as a hideaway for Cage with sweeping views of a pond on the scenic Atlantic Ocean coastline in Middletown, an upper-end area frequented by some of the most affluent north-easterners.
The home includes a library with a soaring barrel vaulted ceiling, formal living room, spacious dining room, vintage conservatory, stone fireplace, gourmet kitchen and custom hickory ceilings.
Rhode Island had been the destination for New Englanders to enjoy weekend vacations during the summertime prior to the implementation of federal taxes. But after the super-rich were taxed the area witnessed a slowdown in weekend property owners except for the richest estate owners. The area also saw a boom during the real estate bubble as mansions like the one Cage bought more than doubled in value in just a few short years.
The Massachusetts couple that purchased the estate through a real estate broker plans on continuing work on the property to preserve the home to its original condition.