A Louis I. Kahn–designed residence in Pennsylvania failed to leave the auction block last weekend, unlike other landmark Modernist houses quickly scooped up by high bidders in recent years. The Chicago-based auction house, Wright, which specializes in 20th-century art and design, had hoped to sell Kahn’s Margaret Esherick House on Sunday for $2 million to $3 million, but could not find a buyer. “I’m a bit mystified,” says auctioneer Richard Wright. “I’m a big believer in the house and its importance. That’s why I got involved in the first place.”

Wright’s auction of the 2,500-square-foot dwelling—located on a half-acre lot in the affluent Philadelphia suburb, Chestnut Hill—took place less than a week after Christie’s $16.8 million sale of Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, California. Wright posits that the Esherick House’s location could explain the differing results. Plus, the Neutra masterpiece, at 3,200 square feet, is larger and sits on a desert lot nearly triple in size.