For at least six years, Joe and Liz O'Connell tried to sell the 19,000-square-foot mansion they built in North Tampa's Avila community.

They spurned purchase offers of $5 million and $4.2 million for the estate they dubbed "Chateau de Chenes."

They waited too long. The bank has taken the eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom home at 901 Palacio de Avila off their hands.

JPMorgan Chase foreclosed on the house and listed it last week for $2.72 million.

The O'Connells, who ran luxury home builder RJL O'Connell, built the house in 2001, intending to sell it as quickly as possible. Among the biggest in the Tampa Bay area, the house was once listed for $8.5 million. Its name in English is "Castle of the Oaks."

With average prices well above $1 million, Avila has become a realty dead zone. And the appearance of the "castle" on the market - priced by the bank to undercut the competition - won't help.

"The bank wants to move it. It's a toxic asset on its books," said listing agent Mike Dumas of All Pro Realty Services.

More than 50 Avila homes are for sale, including financially troubled coin dealer Mark Yaffe's 29,000-square-foot spread. Lawyers in Yaffe's bankruptcy case admitted in court last week that the sale of his "Versaille-type" estate could take years.

The O'Connells quit the building business a few years ago to run a vineyard and winery in the south of France near the medieval walled town of Carcassonne. Liz O'Connell claims descent from Vietnamese royalty. The Times couldn't reach them for comment.

The home was on the market for 11/2 years as a short sale - that's when a bank agrees to sell a home for less than the mortgage owed. Potential buyers emerged, but the O'Connells were dissatisfied with the price, Dumas said.

"I heard they were offered $4.2 million, but they were insulted by the offer," he said. "Property's only worth what somebody's willing to pay for it."