The US directory of lighthouse properties
Every US lighthouse on the market or on offer right now: private listings, federal auctions and free transfers. Each one comes with its price, its sale history and a link to the original source.
Boston Light, Little Brewster Island · photo U.S. GSA · free transfer in review, letters closed Oct 2
The directory
As of September 30, 2026, 6 lighthouses in the US are for sale or on offer across 5 listings: 2 private listings, 2 free transfer offers and 1 federal auction pending. 3 recent sales are on record, 2 with a confirmed price.
For sale 17 photos MI · Saginaw Bay and Lake Michigan
$179,900 Asking
Two working Michigan lighthouses, Gravelly Shoal in Saginaw Bay and Skillagalee in Lake Michigan, listed together at $179,900. A nonprofit owns both and will not split them.
For sale 18 photos VA · Chesapeake Bay
$450,000 Asking
A restored 1897 caisson lighthouse with four bedrooms, listed at $450,000 cash. The Coast Guard keeps the lamp lit.
Transfer review 6 photos MA · Boston Harbor and the Atlantic
No cost Federal offering
America's first lighthouse site, on a seven-acre island with six buildings. The federal government offered it at no cost to public and nonprofit groups on August 3, 2026.
Transfer review 5 photos OH · Lake Erie
No cost Federal offering
A four-story tower and fog house on Cleveland's breakwater. A $425,000 auction bid in 2023 never closed, and GSA offered it free to community groups in April 2026.
Auction pending 2 photos RI · Narragansett Bay
Opening bid TBA GSA auction
A lighthouse GSA lists at 51 feet, with a four-bedroom keeper's house on about 1.3 acres, reached by road. GSA plans a public auction and had set no date or opening bid as of June 2026.
Sold 10 photos VA · Chesapeake Bay (Hampton Roads)
Price unconfirmed Sold 2026
Virginia's oldest caisson lighthouse, a fully furnished 1891 tower reached only by boat. Listed at $995,000 in June 2026 and closed in late September.
Sold 2 photos MD · Chesapeake Bay
$192,000 Sold 2022
A 1901 Chesapeake caisson lighthouse that opened at $15,000 and sold for $192,000 in a five-bidder GSA auction in September 2022.
Sold 2 photos RI · Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay
$805,000 Sold 2022
An 1855 brick lighthouse with an attached keeper's house at the foot of the Mount Hope Bridge. Listed at $750,000 in August 2022 and sold for $805,000.
No lighthouse matches those filters. Try another state or status.
Browse
Lighthouses for sale are grouped by region and by type on 5 pages: Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay, Michigan and the Great Lakes, Maine, lighthouse homes, and historic or decommissioned lighthouses. Each page sets out what is for sale, what sold and the sources behind it.
3 listings: 1 for sale or on offer, 2 sold. Caisson towers reached by boat.
2 listings: 2 for sale or on offer. Offshore towers and bottomlands leases.
None for sale today. Sale and transfer records.
4 listings: 2 for sale or on offer, 2 sold. Keeper's houses and livable towers.
8 listings: 5 for sale or on offer, 3 sold. Light status and National Register status.
Price
A lighthouse costs anywhere from nothing to about $1 million, depending on the route. Free transfers cost $0. Federal auction prices have run from $10,000 to $933,888. Private listings on this site have asked from $179,900 to $995,000.
Routes
Lighthouses change hands three ways: federal auction, free transfer to a public body or nonprofit, and private sale. The route decides who can buy, what it costs and how long it takes.
GSA sells lighthouses the Coast Guard no longer needs, online at realestatesales.gov, after no public body or nonprofit claims them. Offerings are announced through the year.
GSA lighthouse auctionsUnder the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, agencies and certified nonprofits can receive a lighthouse at no cost if they will restore it and open it to the public.
Free lighthouse transfersOwners sell through brokers or their own sites, often after restoring a lighthouse they bought at auction. With federal auctions, it is the only route open to any buyer with cash.
How to buy a lighthouseYes, when an owner lists with a broker. Middle Ground appeared on Zillow and Redfin, and Smith Point on Redfin and Homes.com. Federal auctions run on realestatesales.gov instead, so a Zillow search misses two of the three ways a lighthouse changes hands.
Yes, if it has living space. Smith Point has four bedrooms in about 1,500 square feet, Warwick Neck has a four-bedroom keeper's house on land, and Middle Ground was offered fully furnished. Some offshore lights, like Hooper Island, have no utilities at all.
Probably not close to you, because only a handful are on the market at once. The current offerings are in Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, Ohio and Rhode Island. Filter the directory by state, or set an alert and we will email you when a new one appears.
Sale records
Federal auctions in our records closed between $23,250 (Skillagalee, 2015) and $860,000 (American Shoal, 2022). Bristol Ferry sold privately for $805,000. The table shows the 6 most recent of the 11 sales on record.
| What happened | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | Middle Ground | VA | Private sale | $995,000 Asking Asking price. MLS shows both $900,000 and $995,000 at closing. | Resale of the 2005 auction lighthouse, fully restored and furnished. Final price unconfirmed. Bright MLS via Houzeo |
| Sept 2022 | Bristol Ferry | RI | Private sale | $805,000 Sold | Listed at $750,000. A land lighthouse and house at the foot of the Mount Hope Bridge. GoLocalProv |
| Sept 2022 | Hooper Island | MD | Federal auction | $192,000 Sold | Opened at $15,000 with five bidders. No dock, no utilities, Navy access agreement. Wikipedia |
| May 2022 | American Shoal | FL | Federal auction | $860,000 Sold | Off Sugarloaf Key. The bidder was not disclosed. Wikipedia |
| May 2022 | Sombrero Key | FL | Federal auction | $575,000 Sold | Opened at $15,000 on February 13, 2022. Wikipedia |
| Sept 2015 | Skillagalee | MI | Federal auction | $23,250 Sold | Offered free in 2011 with no applicants. Listed with Gravelly Shoal at $179,900 in 2026. Lighthousefriends |
Alerts
New listings, price changes and deadlines. Federal offerings and private listings appear through the year. One short note when something changes, nothing else.
Buyers come here to compare price, access and paperwork. List yours with photos, the details buyers ask about and a link to your agent.