The first auction of former coal billionaire Nathan Tinkler's Patinack Farm properties could be declared a "non-starter" after all were passed in at auction on Thursday.

The sale was a complicated and at times disjointed process that included slow starts, pass-ins and an unusual schedule of events.

LJ Hooker auctioneer Mark MacCabe presided over the event that included a first round of bidding for all properties (complete with separate negotiations following each auction), and then a second round of bidding on each property, finally resulting in each property being passed in.

Final bids passed in were $4,500,000 for Wadham Park, $1,800,000 for Elysian Fields, $3,500,000 for Benobble and $1,800,000 on Sarahvale, totalling $11,600,000.

LJ Hooker managing agent Cameron McPhie said prior to the auction there were 15 registered bidders and it was expected the properties would sell for a total of between $17 million and $23 million.

Notable horse racing identities who attended the auction included Gerhard 'Hoss' Heinrich, husband of well known Queensland trainer Gillian Heinrich, and Sky Racing's Richard Freedman, brother of Hall of Fame trainer Lee Freedman.

Both men attended in an official capacity, with Mr Heinrich involved in the bidding and final under bid for both Wadham Park and Elysian fields and Mr Freedman as official representative at the sale for Mr Nathan Tinkler.

Also in attendance was former BRW rich lister and ex-MFS Ltd chief executive officer Michael King.

Mr King appeared to be involved in the auction as underbidder for both the Benobble and Sarahvale properties, visually nodding or shaking his head when looked at by another man standing next to him holding the bidding paddle.

MFS was a Gold Coast founded property and investment firm that at one stage boasted a market capitalisation of approximately $2.5 billion. It was also one of the earliest and most high-profile Australian collapses of the global financial crisis in 2009, along with investment bank Babcock and Brown.

Mr King once owned the Elysian Fields property, where he used to host world-class Polo events prior to the MFS collapse, before selling out to Mr Tinkler's Patinack Farm.

Mr MacCabe concluded the auction by saying LJ Hooker expected to have all the properties sold within seven days and were entertaining a number of conditional and unconditional parties, but were working for the vendor on getting the "best amalgamation possible".

Earlier in the year, Mr Tinkler had claimed that he had sold Patinack Farm, including its more than 500 racing horses, to overseas interests for $130 million, which didn't eventuate. He was going to use the proceeds to pay back debts owed to retail billionaire Gerry Harvey, putting the remainder towards a planned resurrection deal with ­Peabody Coal and the mothballed Wilkie Creek mine in Queensland. In August, Peabody ended any hopes of a business comeback for Tinkler by pulling the plug on the deal.