The Period at a Glance
Land is where direct MLS access matters most, because raw land is poorly tracked by the national portals most buyers start with. From January 1 through June 30, 2026, 67 land parcels closed in Luzerne County through the multiple listing service, at a median sale price of ($55,000). Prices ran from a ($6,500) lot to an ($835,000) tract, which is why the median, not the average, is the honest number to lead with.
Land still sold at a discount to asking. The median parcel closed at (90.4%) of its final list price and (87.5%) of its original price, after a median of 40 days on the market. Among the 47 sales that reported acreage, the median lot was 2.0 acres and the median price was about ($21,000) per acre.
The first quarter of 2026 accounted for 29 sales at a median of ($94,900). The second quarter added 38 at a median of ($48,000).
Why We Do Not Publish a Land Price Trend
The first half of 2025 produced 92 land sales at a median of ($35,000), so on paper the median rose by more than half. That is a change in what sold rather than in what land is worth. Sixty-eight of those 92 earlier sales, (74%), were under ($75,000). This period, 37 of 67, (55%), were. With samples this small, one period against another tells you about the mix rather than the market.
Sales by Price Band
| Price Band | Closed Sales | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $25,000 | 17 | 25% |
| $25,000 To $75,000 | 20 | 30% |
| $75,000 To $200,000 | 22 | 33% |
| Over $200,000 | 8 | 12% |
The ($75,000) to ($200,000) band was again the deepest, which is where buildable residential acreage tends to trade. Below ($75,000) the market turns on access, utilities and whether a lot can be built on at all. Above ($200,000) the buyer pool narrows to builders and developers, and value is driven by entitlements and highest and best use rather than comparable lot sales.
Where the Sales Happened
Sixty-seven sales spread across a county this size leave no single town with enough to publish a reliable median, so we report where the activity was rather than what it cost. Dallas led with 10 sales, followed by Mountain Top with 6, Drums with 5, and Hanover Township and Hazleton with 4 each. Those five areas account for 29 of the 67 sales.
The Back Mountain and Mountain Top sales lean toward larger wooded residential acreage, while the sales around Hazleton and Hanover Township lean toward smaller building lots. A buyer comparing the two should expect very different prices for reasons that have nothing to do with the market cycle.
The Surrounding Counties
Land sales in Lackawanna, Wyoming, Monroe and Carbon recorded in our MLS during the period were too few to support a credible median, and we would rather say so than dress up a handful of sales as a market statistic. What holds across all of them is that value is set by the specific parcel, its access, zoning and utilities, far more than by any countywide figure. For land in any of these counties, the right starting point is a parcel-level analysis.
What Drives Land Value Here
Land is the property type where a headline price tells you the least. Two parcels of the same size and asking price can be worth very different amounts depending on what can legally be built on them. The variables that set value are zoning and permitted use, road access and frontage, availability of public water, sewer and power, soils and percolation for an on-lot septic system, and any wetlands, floodplain or steep-slope constraints. A low price per acre often reflects one of those constraints rather than a bargain.
For sellers, the parcels that sell are the ones where the buildability questions are answered up front. For buyers, the diligence is the deal. The parcel that works is the one where access, utilities and use are confirmed before closing, not assumed.
Methodology and Sources
Every figure in this report is a closed land sale recorded in the Luzerne County Association of REALTORS multiple listing service with a close date from January 1 through June 30, 2026, across all listing brokerages. The comparison period is January 1 through June 30, 2025. A property entered twice under two property types is counted once, and nominal transfers recorded under ($1,000) are excluded. Medians are reported rather than averages because land prices span an extremely wide range. Lot size and price per acre use only the sales that reported acreage. Town groupings follow the mailing address on the listing.
- Luzerne County Association of REALTORS multiple listing service, closed land sales, January 2025 through June 2026, retrieved September 23, 2026
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