US Median Lot Value Declines for First Time Since 2019

A closer look at the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, with analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), shows that the national median lot value for single-family detached spec homes declined to $59,000 from $60,000 a year earlier.

The decrease marked the first year since 2019 without a new national high, although regional results varied. The Pacific, Mountain, Middle Atlantic, and East North Central census divisions each reached record highs.

In inflation-adjusted terms, the national median lot value fell roughly 4% in 2025. It also remained below the inflation-adjusted peak reached during the 2005–06 housing boom, when the median lot value was $43,000, equivalent to about $68,700 in 2025 dollars.

NAHB noted that lot values remain elevated even as builders increasingly use smaller lots. Lots smaller than one-fifth of an acre accounted for 64% of spec home starts in 2025, compared with 65% in 2024 and 48% in 2005.

Lot availability also remains constrained, albeit to a lesser degree. In NAHB’s May 2025 Housing Market Index survey, 64% of builders rated the supply of developed lots as low or very low. This June, 42% of respondents rated lot availability as poor, while 17% described it as good.