Auction for Trump’s boyhood Jamaica Estates home postponed

The race for the White House went on as scheduled Wednesday night. The race for Donald Trump’s boyhood house did not.

The Jamaica Estates house that Trump lived in until he was 4 was to be auctioned on Wednesday, the same night Trump, the GOP nominee, squared off against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in the final presidential debate before Election Day, Nov. 8. But the auction, scheduled to be held at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, was postponed.

“There has been a lot of media attention as you might imagine lately, and the seller decided to postpone it to give buyers more time to really evaluate the property,” says Misha Haghani, principal of Paramount Realty USA, which is auctioning the house with Laffey Real Estate.

It was announced in September that the former house of the billionaire Republican presidential nominee would go to auction.

Haghani says media attention and buyer interest have been significant during the past month, but ramped up in the past few days. Asked if the seller believes the increased attention will drive up the value of the house, Haghani says, “I would say that they might believe that, yes.”

The five-bedroom Tudor, built by Trump’s developer father in 1940, was originally listed on the market in July for $1.65 million and later reduced to $1.39 million. The brick-and-stucco house features an eat-in kitchen, a formal dining room and 4 1⁄2 bathrooms. The 3,600-square-foot home, with a full finished basement, also includes a two-car garage.

Haghani says he is unsure if the opening bid for the property, originally set at $849,000, will remain the same or increase. No date has been set for the auction, but Haghani says he believes it will be in either November or December, meaning it likely could be held after the election.

“If he wins,” Haghani says, “I think it’s possible that the house will be worth more after the election.”