When the “location location location” is “waterfront, waterfront, waterfront,” high-end real estate enters a whole new plane—often one with multihued sunset views, sunlit terraces, palm trees, infinity pools, and resort-style private cabanas.

We sought out the largest examples of waterfront mansions—from “smallest” (a mere 10,000 or so square feet) to some of the largest ones on the market. Here are ten such amazing residences, from Mediterranean to modern, from those perched by lakes to those overlooking the Pacific and the Atlantic to those down in the Caribbean (including one on its own private tropical island) and even a Hawaiian residential paradise.

Slideshow: The Biggest Waterfront Homes

Here are some of the biggest and nicest waterfront homes on the market:

An $18.5 million Golden Beach, Fla. home for sale Photo: floridamoves.com

Golden Beach, FL
List price: $18,500,000
Location: 605 Ocean Blvd. Golden Beach, FL
Square Footage: 14,079
Bedrooms: 5
Baths: 6 full, 3 partial

This modern oceanfront estate features limestone, slate, and wood floors, a two-story gallery entrance, formal dining room, his-and-hers master baths and walk-in closets, meditation room, gym, elevator, and media room. There is also the 100-foot-long matter of the beach, complete with cabana.

An $29.5 million La Jolla, CA home for sale Photo: trulia.com

La Jolla, CA
List price: $29.5M
Location: 6350 Camino De La Costa, La Jolla CA
Square Footage: 10,000
Bedrooms: 6
Baths: 6 full, 1 partial

This stunning Mediterranean/Spanish style coastal compound offers direct access to the beach. Sprawled across 135 feet of ocean frontage, this recently remodeled mansion offers a gated entry, hand-hewed walnut beams, intricate hand-crafted flooring, an expansive outdoor living space with 4 fireplaces, fire pit and of course, the oceanfront.

A $32 million Honolulu, HI home for sale Photo: choi-realty.com

Honolulu, HI
List price: $32,500,000
Location: 4747 Kahala Ave., Honolulu, HI
Square Footage: 18,388
Bedrooms: 9
Baths: 9 full, 1 partial

This astounding modern tropical compound including two four-bedroom guesthouses offers 125 feet of beach frontage with mountain, ocean, and sunrise views. With the palm trees, decks, pool, and outdoor lounging areas, this home could be mistaken for a resort, but it’s private home available to anyone with $32.5K to drop.

A $60 million Indian Creek, FL home for sale Photo: NRT LLC

Indian Creek, Florida
List price: $60,000,000
Location: 3 Indian Creek Dr., Indian Creek, FL
Square Footage: 30,000
Bedrooms: 10
Kitchens: 5

This modern two-acre compound of five buildings highlights the continuity between indoor and outdoor space using floating pavilions, waterfalls, vertical gardens, courtyards and a private beach with sand imported from the Bahamas. It also has Bond-worthy wine cellar only accessible using a fingerprint keypad, and remote controls in every room that operate everything in the home, from the jacuzzi to the 175 inch 3-D TV in the home theatre.

A $7.9 million Bellevue, WA home for sale Photo: trulia.com

Bellevue, WA
List price: $7,900,000
Location: 905 Shoreland Drive Southeast, Bellevue WA
Square Footage: 10,740
Bedrooms: 6
Baths: 6 full, 2 partial

This unique Mediterranean house features a 500 year-old hand-carved entry into the media room, custom crafted cabinets carved by Rumanian artists, and extensive use of marble, granite and wrought iron. Almost every room in the house has panoramic views of Seattle, Lake Washington, and Mercer Island, and Chism Beach Park is nearby. Included in the package are two tax lots for further waterfront footage.

Click here to see all of the Biggest Waterfront Houses

By Adam Playford

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 9:59 a.m. Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Posted: 7:06 p.m. Monday, May 2, 2011

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After dropping like a stone for more than three years, Palm Beach County's property values started to level off in 2010, property appraiser Gary Nikolits said Monday - good news for local governments that have been slashing budgets to make up for lost property tax revenues.

Early estimates show a countywide loss of 1.5 percent to 2 percent. As recently as January, Nikolits was predicting a 5 percent fall, on top of 10 percent drops in both 2009 and 2008.

If the new numbers hold - they won't be final until July 1 - the difference would cut Palm Beach County's expected budget shortfall next fiscal year from $50 million to $30 million, County Administrator Bob Weisman said.

"It's a big help," Weisman said. "But we still have to reduce expenses or come up with one-time savings or some combination to balance the budget."

Still, he added, "it reduces the shortfall we've been anticipating, so it makes it easier to talk about what the cuts might be."

Nikolits said the new estimates are a sign that the market is starting to bottom out.

"It just doesn't look as bad as it did before," he said, adding: "We've seen things kind of steady out there and in some cases actually go up in value."

Commercial real estate did better than expected, Nikolits said, and the value of property near the water and golf courses has begun to increase.

He said the market remains "horrible," though, and that it may be years before values regularly climb.

But for local governments, if the apparent trend holds, the worst may be over. "I would certainly hope so," he said, "because quite honestly I think there are a lot of local governments that are sitting right on the precipice of their very existence, just trying to hold on."

Nikolits' numbers are far rosier than those used by Realtors, however. Bill Richardson, the president of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, called the property appraiser's numbers "absolutely ludicrous." His association's data shows the median sales price dropping 11.8 percent in 2010.

"I think he's way off at 1.5 percent. I don't think you'd find anybody in real estate anywhere that would agree with that," Richardson said. He agreed, however, that the market is improving .

Nikolits defended his estimates, saying that the methods realtors use can change dramatically year-to-year . "They make good reading and nothing more."

We've all heard about the basics of staging a home for sale: reduce the clutter, get rid of the wallpaper, showcase a few well-displayed accessories.

 

Never once has Sabrina Soto, the HGTV staging guru, suggested leaving a friendly dog or cat around to warm up the home. In fact, she advises hiding any evidence that a pet has ever been there.

• How pets can be a landlord's best friend

But according to The New York Times, some Manhattan real-estate agents have found family pets an asset, not a liability, in selling property.

• Home sellers' latest tool: Faux homeowners

Jon Lightman and Judy Batalion were charmed by the resident cat they met at a Chelsea loft they eventually bought.

 

"We were so flattered by the cat’s attention," Lightman told The Times. "He was so warm and social. He’d climb on anyone, even our real-estate broker and us. He made the apartment feel lived in, homey."

 

My tabby greets all guests at the door, but he occasionally bites one, so he may not be a good cat for staging, even if his warm neutral color does match the gray sofa.

 

The real-estate agents interviewed by The Times' Constance Rosenblum told stories of several friendly animals they thought helped close the deal.

 

Wraggles, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, proved such as natural at staging that he climbed without instruction onto a chaise in the living room, framing himself as part of the view. The dog was such a hit that his presence was requested at all future showings. To avoid those repellent doggie smells, Wraggles visited a dog spa beforehand.

 

"The person who bought the apartment told me that with the dog on the chaise lounge and the fire in the fireplace, it felt like a real home," owner Deborah Pilla told Rosenblum.

• The home-staging cheat sheet

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The agents did tell several stories in which the family pets did not help close the sale, including one in which seven barking Yorkies followed prospective buyers around as they toured the apartment. This is not a scenario that makes you want to hang around and take a second look at the granite countertops.

 

Real-estate broker J. Philip Faranda of New York, who owns a German shepherd, expressed skepticism that these few anecdotes are a signal to ignore the traditional home-staging advice to keep your pets where they can't be seen, heard or smelled. In a comment responding to the article, he wrote:

… I find the notion that pets do anything but hinder the sale of any property to be laughable. Just because a few anecdotal examples exist where people clicked with the pet doesn't detract from the fact that they are a distraction to the eyes, ears and nose.

What do you think? Would your pet help you sell the house or would he impel buyers to run in the opposite direction?