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“Location, location, location” has long been a rule of thumb in real estate. Most often it’s a place with access to the water or a spread that sits in proximity to the latest business development. In Walter Cecil’s case, though, a prime spot on which to live wasn’t near a beachfront or a shopping complex. Fed up with the high cost of real estate in San Francisco, Cecil, an art dealer, fled to a secluded 8.3-acre property in the Sonoran desert. His home, a trio of rusted steel cubes linked by gravel paths, isn’t in your typical neighborhood but that’s its draw, according to Cecil.

“It’s a perfect marriage between good modern architecture and a pristine desert environment,” says Cecil, who after seven years in residence has listed this contemporary version of a yurt home for $875,000.

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The desert dwelling’s largest maple-outfitted cube contains the great room and kitchen; the medium cube houses the master bedroom suite and the smallest is a home office and guest room. Each has a floor-to-ceiling wall of glass for remarkable panoramic views. No need to worry about nighthawks or snakes or other nocturnal “creepy crawly things.” The landscape is completely lit at night.

In another rather unconventional setting, Villa Rockledge, a 5,500 square foot mansion constructed in 1918 sits perched on a rocky ledge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Laguna Beach home is too large to be built today. “According to code, you would have to push it back 20 or 30 feet,” said Rosanne Ramirez-Kline, a sales agent with Surterre Properties in the seaside California town. The Old-World-style brick and stucco spread, a historical landmark, is situated on a rare half-acre-plus lot. Valued at $26 million by Zillow.com, the main house has a “funky layout,” and every room boasts an ocean view. “Some buyers would want to turn it into a hotel,” Kline says.

The excavated and flattened bluffs on the shores of Lake Erie are perhaps an unlikely spot for a secluded 40,000 square foot “pod” home. Waterwood Estate, a modern marvel of architecture, was laid out on 160 acres by its late inventor owner using 20 concrete pods sporting pyramid-shaped slate roofs that connect by glass corridors. On the market for $19.5 million, the estate includes a helicopter hangar, two indoor pools, four banks of elevators, a barber shop and a garage floor that rotates 360 degrees (so you’ll never have to back out).

Full List: Homes In The Most Unusual Places

Inside, a table in the living room rotates, providing everyone with a lake view, and the wine grotto’s dining table rises through the two-story manse to a retractable glass dome. Along the beachfront, a private marina large enough for more than 15 boats awaits, just in case your fleet wants to angle for walleyed, trout or perch.