But a cautiousness has begun to creep in, brought on by recent turmoil in the markets, uproar over a lavish birthday party for the private equity executive Stephen A. Schwarzman, and calls from Capitol Hill to increase taxes on hedge funds and private equity billionaires.

In August, leading hedge funds showed a loss of 2.5 percent, according to the HFRX index compiled by Hedge Fund Research. On the surface, it does not seem like a lot, given the billions of dollars that hedge funds have accumulated. Yet it was the largest monthly reversal since a 3.8 percent decline in April 2000. Taken together with larger downturns at several prominent funds, the number represents a stark reminder that the fast and easy returns of recent years are on the wane.

“People just don’t feel euphoric, and they don’t want to be high profile any more,” said Dolly Lenz, a high-end real estate broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman, who said she began to see this reserve from her hedge fund clients in July. “They are no longer seeing new highs every month. They may have the same net worth, but it’s all about euphoria and confidence. These are trade-up purchases; no one really needs them.”

It is not just Old Trees. Ms. Lenz cited a growing number of luxury properties that have not found a buyer, most prominently a $70 million penthouse at the Pierre Hotel.

An early sign of this modesty came in the spring, when Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, rescinded an offer to buy Old Trees after a small news item about the deal appeared in The New York Post. After his $54 million bonus last year, such an outlay might have seemed ostentatious. Mr. Blankfein declined to comment.