Homes that didn't make the list include a nine-figure spec home and mansions around the world. In compiling the list of the most expensive properties for sale in the United States, international homes and those yet to be built were excluded. Truth is, some magnificent residences didn't make the list. Below are a few that fall into this category. What do they have in common? Builders with a vision. Unyielding standards. Impressive architectural detail and superior craftsmanship. South Florida real estate "artist" Frank McKinney is a truly original thinker - not a builder, he says, nor an architect. "Actually, I'm an artist builder. When I create, I do so on a sun-drenched palette called the Atlantic Ocean." He soon will break ground in Manalapan, Fla. (neighbor to Palm Beach), on the world's most expensive oceanfront "spec" with a value in excess of $100 million. It will be an Italianate Lake Como-like villa.

"The home is on 5.5 acres. It will be more than 70,000 square feet, contain no less than 14 bedrooms, no less than 22 bathrooms, no less than a 15-car garage," McKinney says. McKinney is well known for creating fabulously opulent waterfront homes on speculation, and then selling them for tens of millions of dollars. He's also an author, with two books to his name. The latest is Frank McKinney's Maverick Approach to Real Estate Success (Wiley Books). The builders of an exquisite 19th-century French Riviera (built in cooperation with Gustavo Eiffel) villa also knew what they were doing. Located in St. Jean Cap Ferret, a beautiful seaside village on a peninsula jutting into the blue Mediterranean, between Nice and Monaco, the residence (which can double as a hotel if you're so inclined)-with five floors, two elevators, and more than 29,000 square feet-is an exceptional site on one of the loveliest places along the Mediterranean coast.

Fully renovated and refurbished in 2000, the property (offered at $44.3 million) is decorated with fine 18th-century furniture. A master-bedroom suite features a private salon and very large dressing room. There are three sparkling swimming pools-outside and inside-made with massive stone edges and Andalusia mosaic, plus a sumptuous pool house overlooked by Roman columns. Add to this the requisite studies, a library and media room, and you have a perfect place to enjoy the better things in life. High atop a hill in Umbria, Italy sits a majestic 12th- century castle (asking price: $14 million), featuring almost 200 rooms, a panoramic terrace, courtyard and pool. With Rome to the south (60 miles), and Florence to the north (125 miles), the castle has always enjoyed a strategic position in the history and politics of the region.

The castle has five floors plus a basement; the terrace is furnished with lush outdoor furniture specially designed for the castle, and has panoramic views over the valley. From the terrace, a portico leads to an interior ivy-covered courtyard with a medieval well. Nearby is the armory, which has been turned into a large dining room with a huge fireplace and views. Castles can get cold. No problem here. The armory, a billiards room and the upstairs rooms have central heating. Rooms off the main terrace are electrically heated, which makes the castle ideal for visiting any time of year. Updown Court, in Surrey, England is probably the most expensive country property ever to go on sale in the United Kingdom. Priced around $120 million, the estate was heralded by the British press as the first 21st-century stately home in England, with grounds larger in area than both the royal residences of Buckingham Palace and Hampton Court.

The 58 acres include five swimming pools, a heated marble driveway, a private cinema, bowling alley, indoor squash court and an all-weather floodlit tennis court. A helipad provides for private landings and an underground garage has room for eight limousines. The estate is made of four principal buildings-a main house, guest accommodations, gate lodge and a separate estate manager's office. The main house and two guest houses comprise 60,000 square feet of living area. Among the 103 rooms are 22 bedrooms, each with its own marble bathroom. It's all quite stunning.

by Rick Dandes