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Realtor.com introduced land value estimates to its platform, providing brokers and builders with data on land listings that remain depressed relative to post-pandemic housing inventory. In the first quarter of 2026, the median land price per acre was $62,365 and the number of properties was 426,986. Land inventories have decreased by 23.6 percent since the first quarter of 2019, but prices have increased by 76.6 percent during that period. According to Realtor.com analysis, prices for raw land have increased 86.5% since the first quarter of 2019, outpacing the 53.3% rise in ready-to-build land due to the lower cost of entry and speculative appeal of raw land. Land prices in the first quarter of 2026 fell by 0.5% compared to the same period last year. The West saw the largest decline (5.9%), while the Northeast saw the largest increase due to development constraints and regulations.
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Realtor.com has added land value estimates to its platform, giving agents and builders a new data tool to track one of the key inputs to new construction. An accompanying market analysis shows that the land market has yet to fully recover from the pandemic-era buying frenzy.
Realtor.com has added land value estimates to its platform, giving agents and builders a new data tool to track one of the key inputs to new construction. The land market has yet to fully recover from the pandemic-era buying frenzy, according to the portal’s market analysis.
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According to Realtor.com, in the first quarter of 2026, there were 426,986 properties for sale on the platform, with a median price per acre of $62,365. National land inventories have shrunk by 23.6% since the first quarter of 2019, but the price per acre has increased by 76.6% over the same period.
Unlike residential properties, which have seen a significant recovery in inventory, land properties are still largely stagnant. Realtor.com attributes this gap to the construction frenzy from 2020 to 2022, when large tracts of land listed were permanently converted to housing.
Raw land saw the biggest price increases over the period, with prices per acre increasing 86.5% since the first quarter of 2019, compared to 53.3% for ready-to-build properties. Realtor.com linked this surge to raw land’s low starting price and its attractiveness as a speculative investment.
Prices have since softened, falling by 0.5 percent year-on-year as of Q1 2026, with the West recording the steepest decline at 5.9 percent. The Northeast, constrained by dense development, restrictive zoning and environmental regulations, has seen the steepest price increases since the pandemic, rising from $23,584 per acre in the first quarter of 2019 to $47,511 per acre in the first quarter of 2026.
Among major metropolitan areas, the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton/Port Royal area in South Carolina saw the largest decline in inventory since 2019, dropping by 72.1%. Port St. Lucie, Florida, led the way in per acre price increases, increasing 314 percent over the same period.
This estimate includes raw land, partially developed land, and ready-to-build lots listed on Realtor.com.
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