Start the Bidding: Lifelong Auctioneer Puts His Family Home on the Auction Block for $1

Since 1973, Bernie Brzostek has conducted over 8,700 real estate and personal property auctions. But on Oct. 11, 2026, at 1 p.m., he may be auctioning the most important property yet: his own family home.

After 53 years working together in the auction business in upstate New York, Brzostek and his wife, Wendy, are planning to retire and move south to be closer to their four daughters and grandkids.

The pair have run a home or personal property auction via Brzostek's Real Estate Auction Co. roughly every other day over the course of their 50-plus-year marriage. So it makes sense that, as they move into a new chapter, they've decided to auction off their own home of 35-plus years in Baldwinsville, NY.

The reserve, or minimum opening bid, for the property is set at just $1. But Brzostek says he isn't fretting about the unusual approach to selling his home.

"I don’t worry about selling my house at auction," says Brzostek. Selling a home by auction is basically an accelerated path to getting the top market price in the shortest amount of time, he adds.

"Since we have a 99% sell rate for our clients, why wouldn’t we subscribe to the same method when it comes to auctioning our home at an unreserved public auction?"

How unreserved public real estate auctions work

In an unreserved public auction, the property is sold to the highest bidder, regardless of the final price.

While an unreserved auction is obviously the riskiest, it also attracts the most buyers and often generates a selling price that's higher than expected. However, with Brzostek's auctions, the seller may reject a final bid if it's insultingly low. But the seller must pay a fee to the auctioneer.

"The unreserved auction method of marketing forces all potential buyers into the marketplace at once, whereupon they have to bid more than other qualified bidders, ultimately leading to the top and final highest bidder beating out all other bidders, who now go home unsuccessful in the quest for buying the property," says Brzostek.

He argues that it's not so different from the traditional practice of real estate brokers and agents who ask buyers to submit their best and highest bid by a certain deadline. 

"We are doing this as well, but in a public auction format so that everyone has equal opportunity to bid at the auction," explains Brzostek.

Having a deadline also creates a sense of urgency for the interested parties, who have to plan to attend the open house or a private showing, pre-arrange financing, and consult with family and legal advisers in advance, so as to be fully prepared to make their highest and best bid on the day of the auction, according to Brzostek.

He notes that their auctions expose a property to more potential buyers through comprehensive advertising on their website (they have 85,000-plus subscribers), other real estate websites, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, signs, open houses, press releases, auction mailers, and internet bidding.

"This will entice the bidders to come and bid, knowing that the auction day will be D-Day. That’s when the bidding battle will take place," says Brzostek.

An unreserved real estate auction that Brzostek runs typically lasts less than an hour. The winning buyer then puts down a 10% nonrefundable deposit the day of the auction, another 10% nonrefundable deposit is due within three business days, and the 80% balance is due at the time of the closing. 

With these terms, Brzostek explains that the auction allows the seller to decide their timeline. They choose the day they want to sell and when to schedule an open house and showings. They can also set the terms of the sale regarding deposits and closings.

Finally, he says, the seller can "move on with plans for what’s next to come in their life, like Wendy and I are doing now!"

You could get this home for a $1 starting bid

Though there is no way the Brzostek family home will actually sell for $1, starting the bidding there definitely draws attention. It's a tactic Brzostek has used previously with great success.

"I tell my sellers that by starting at a dollar, I can get them a million. But by starting at a million, I wouldn’t be able to get them a dollar as there wouldn’t be anyone there to bid, because we scared them all away," says Brzostek. "It’s the allure of getting a value that propels bidders to the auction."

As for the property itself, Brzostek is confident that it will attract plenty of attention from bidders.

The 2,800-square-foot English Tudor home has four levels, four bedrooms, three full baths, and an attached two-car garage.

It sits on a 1-acre waterfront lot with a newer concrete dock for two boats right on the Seneca River (part of the Erie Canal system). That means the new owners could theoretically boat to the open Atlantic Ocean from their front yard.

While the estimated market value of the property on Realtor.com® is $552, 200, it will be interesting to see what the home ultimately sells for with these seasoned auctioneers running their own show on Oct. 11.

"We preach what we practice, and we practice what we preach," says Brzostek. "Remember, they don’t sell Van Goghs at garage sales. They sell them at auctions!"