Outside the King County Admission building this morning the once home of Edith Macefield was put up for auction but failed to entice a bidder.
The property came with a balance from the first mortgage, which brought the total price to over $500,000.

Bidders thought the price was too high considering the condition of the property and the controversy surrounding it.

Edith Macefield refused to sell to developers after they offered her $1 million for her modest 1,000-square-foot house. The Ballard Blocks were built around her home after she didn’t sell. She had lived in the dwelling since 1952.

Macefield later died June 15, 2008 of pancreatic cancer. She was 86. The house has become an iconic symbol for development and urban sprawl, and is reminiscent of the Disney film "Up."
The property was put up for auction because the previous owner, Reach Returns, could not pay off $185,956.04 toward the mortgage. Reach Returns had until today to pay off the sum.

The company bought the property in 2009. They had plans to elevate the home to the height of the Ballard Blocks and open the bottoms level for open space that would contain plantings and water features. However, these plans never got off the ground.

Potential buyers can now look to purchase the property from the bank, which could put the home on the market as a bank-owned property.