GSA Lighthouse Auctions

What is the GSA lighthouse program?

The GSA lighthouse program sells federal lighthouses that the Coast Guard no longer needs. It runs under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. GSA offers each lighthouse free to eligible groups first, and if none is chosen, it auctions the lighthouse online to the public.

Since 2000 GSA has moved more than 150 lighthouses out of federal hands: about 81 at no cost and about 70 at auction. The auctions have raised over $10 million, which goes back to the Coast Guard for its aids-to-navigation work. Prices have run from $10,000 to $933,888. The Coast Guard keeps many of these lights lit after a sale, and are lighthouses still used explains why.

When are lighthouses offered each year?

GSA has called May its lighthouse season, but offerings come through the year. Cleveland West Pierhead was offered on April 16, 2026, Boston Light on August 3, 2026, and the Sombrero Key auction opened in February 2022.

The May 2023 offering had six lighthouses at no cost to public bodies and nonprofits in five states, and four for public auction. A lighthouse that finds no free steward lands on the auction board weeks or months later.

Dates slip. Warwick Neck went to a free-transfer notice in 2023, was reported headed for auction in May 2025, and still had no start date or opening bid in June 2026. Subscribe to the listing on realestatesales.gov for the real date.

How does the online auction work?

GSA lists the lighthouse at realestatesales.gov with an invitation for bids. Bidders register with a deposit, inspect on a set date and bid until the close. Penfield Reef in 2025 asked for a $10,000 deposit and $10,000 bid increments, and a bid in the last 24 hours extended the close by 24 hours.

The auctions we tracked ran about 6 to 13 weeks from opening to close. Hooper Island opened on August 8, 2022 and closed on September 22. Sombrero Key opened on February 13, 2022 and closed on May 16.

What have lighthouses sold for at federal auctions?

Federal auctions in our records closed between $23,250 and $860,000. The top bid ran 3.6 to 38 times the opening bid, so the opening bid says almost nothing about the price. Sombrero Key opened at $15,000 and sold for $575,000. The table lists the auctions where we have both numbers.

Two of the six high bids did not become completed sales. That is a warning as much as a price list. See every sale on the sold lighthouses table.

What must a winning bidder agree to?

A winner agrees to preserve the lighthouse to historic standards, leave the light to the Coast Guard and secure any lease for the ground. Hooper Island’s buyer also had to sign an agreement with the Navy about access. These terms are in each invitation for bids.

Read the terms before you register. The leases matter most. Connecticut requires a submerged land lease for Penfield Reef, and the Cleveland West Pierhead sale would have required a 25-year Army Corps lease and liability insurance. GSA said only that the high bidder there decided not to proceed.

Where do you find current lighthouse auctions?

Current auctions are posted on realestatesales.gov, and GSA keeps a lighthouse program page. The National Park Service lists the free-transfer notices for each year, and this directory tracks the auctions and offerings on the board. The board above shows what we can confirm today.

We could not load realestatesales.gov when we last checked, so treat the board as a starting point and confirm dates and bids on the official site. Set an alert on the directory and we will tell you when a new lighthouse appears.