Doug - the trends you talk about in terms of decreasing buying power, shrinking middle class, etc are real and truly disconcerting. The slightly paranoid side of me made sure I purchased a home that could, if needed, be a mini homestead (enough space and the right light exposure to grow veggies and raise chickens). It's simplistic, because if the economy really does fall completely apart I can't farm my way to prosperity on a mortgaged piece of land. In my local market inventory is tight for homes at or slightly below the median because the available homes have some perceived flaw (too close to the highway, schoolyard, train tracks, busy road, other houses). Or they need significant work. Homes in good condition and good locations are quickly purchased if the price is fair. People are justifiably SO afraid of a house losing value that they are unwilling to purchase something with a flaw because they fear being unable to sell in the future. It actually makes sense, but it makes it almost impossible to sell property that is flawed - even for fire sale prices. There is excess inventory at the high end, homes in the top quartile are very slow to move and people aren't listing unless they absolutely have to. This is one reason that we decided to remodel earlier this year instead of move (it was a big remodel, moving could have been less if what we wanted was available).. Now, back to this issue of potential buyers being leery of homes with flaws ... I think that is what is holding back the sale of this house. There are probably buyers who look at it and, when they see the HOA issues, think to themselves, "Gee, even if the HOA issues are fixed, how long will this taint the value of the home? How many years until the stigma falls away? What if I had to sell in that time?" Buyers can't commit to this house on a long term basis because everything about this economy feels SO unstable right now. Is there a shortage of rental property (SFH) in your area? Because that was the other thing we looked at when we bought. I would have preferred to rent but we have a dog and SFH rentals are almost impossible to find in our area for under $3k/mo. With taxes and insurance, our 15 yr mortgage is under $2500/mo ... So, worst case we could rent this place if we had to move out and we would likely cover the mortgage with the rent (or come close to it). I wonder if renting is an option for the OP? I know it's an expensive home, but still ... It may be an option, unless the HOA forbids it.

If this helps, (and this pic is when we were still working on the kitchen, but it's the only one I have on the computer right now), this is our kitchen. The original cabinets were a light oak (I disliked them a lot!)I painted the cabinets and was worried about the grain showing through. I sanded and primed, and re-sanded and put two coats on, and can't see wood grain. In the pic though, the cabinets facing you still needed another coat of paint! We went with Fiesta Gold granite--but it looks exactly like New Venetian Gold. The fabricators change names sometimes from what I understand. As I was trying to explain above--I personally like white with darker floors. But you mentioned that you are planning to replace the floors. For what it's worth, painting wasn't bad. :) And we've got two kids and a dog running around! Again--bear in mind that this isn't a completed kitchen. No backsplash, pendant lights, bar stools, etc...but it will give you an idea maybe. Here's the granite if it helps at all:

"My builder thinks we should tell the subcontractor that the builder will hold back $2,000 for 6 months, and if the crack gets worse he should replace and get the balance at that point...but if it doesn't get worse by then, the installer gets the $2,000. Not sure if 6 months is a good enough time frame, but I do agree that holding back funds is probably the only way to get him to either agree to replace it or at least give me the piece of mind that I can see if it gets worse over that time period." I'd make it a year.

Have someone pull the 4" granite and have a look. With any luck, your proposed backsplash will cover any gaps. If it's too awful, you can always re-install the 4"-er.