If our homes are a reflection of who we are, then Bernie Madoff's Palm Beach estate doesn't disappoint.

The half-acre property, put on the market last week after the U.S. Marshals Service awarded the listing to Palm Beach real estate agents, is sure to draw plenty of the tony set. That wouldn't be unlike the man who once owned it. Madoff, who is serving a 150-year sentence for overseeing a multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors, once was a hive buzzed by many of the nation's wealthiest.

Listed at $8.5 million, the price of the Palm Beach home at one time may have seemed as inflated as one of Madoff's financial statements. Just last spring the Justice Department had estimated its worth at about $7.5 million.

CHALLENGED APPRAISAL

Meanwhile, the Palm Beach Property Appraiser's Office has estimated its value at just over $7.7 million -- that's $7 million for the land and $778,000 for the house itself. That's about a million less than its 2008 appraisal, which didn't sit well with the Madoffs. They challenged the county's 2008 assessment on the home and won, prompting officials to issue a $13,800 refund check for overpayment of property taxes.

But that was all before the estate was showered with notoriety, turning it into a hot commodity and reminding us that we just can't get enough of the rich and famous, not even when they become the once-rich and infamous. Despite a lackluster real estate market that has penetrated all the way to the luxury sector, Madoff's properties are drawing a crowd.

A beach house Madoff owned in Montauk, N.Y., was listed Sept. 1 for $8.75 million. Two days later, some 70 real estate agents reportedly were visiting the home for an open house, while 23 potential buyers viewed the property on Labor Day weekend alone.

Just getting the listing required a good amount of elbowing on the part of real estate brokers. ``Competition [for the Palm Beach listing] was stiff,'' U.S. Deputy Marshal Barry Golden told me. ``We had plenty of well-qualified proposals.''

Of course, multi-million-dollar listings always lure plenty of attention from real estate agents, but it's usually for the sizable commissions they entail. This time, the brokers agreed to donate the commission to help Madoff's victims. (Likewise, proceeds from the sale of Madoff's properties will go toward repaying victims.)

That's quite a bit of interest in a property that some in Palm Beach have described as a tear-down. With views of the Intracoastal Waterway, the home has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, encompassing a total of about 8,700 square feet, according to the listing information. The listing description calls it a ``Palm Beach classic island home'' that ``is truly one of a kind.'' That's certainly true now.

BULLS EVERYWHERE

Inside, the Mexican-tiled house reportedly still has many of Madoff's furnishings, including antiques such as 100-year-old golf clubs and a set of Shakespeare's complete works that dates to 1895. And the decor hints at an apparent fascination with bulls.

Madoff's luxury fishing boats, docked in Fort Lauderdale and also awaiting a sale, were named The Bull and Little Bull. And the Palm Beach home features old English paintings depicting several breeds of bulls. There are also bull statues and bull figurines.

Bull, bull, everywhere. The house was full of it. Just one more way the home reflects the man.

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