GovAuctions Research · Updated daily
The Government Surplus Price Index
What does the U.S. government's castoff actually sell for, and which way are prices moving? This index tracks the median final winning bid by category across 55,784 completed surplus auctions (May 6, 2026 - Jun 30, 2026). The overall median lot sold for $305.
Over the trailing three months, 6 categories are up and 2 are down. The biggest riser is real estate at +155%. The biggest faller is medical at -20%.
Median sale price by category, and 3-month movement
| Category | Sold lots | Median | 3-mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicles | 22,185 | $1,963 | +22% |
| Electronics | 12,487 | $71 | +26% |
| Furniture | 7,824 | $12 | +17% |
| Tools | 4,664 | $100 | +9% |
| Equipment | 3,041 | $1,500 | -9% |
| Medical | 2,859 | $63 | -20% |
| Military | 1,409 | $77 | +14% |
| Jewelry | 870 | $103 | — |
| Real Estate | 428 | $3,373 | +155% |
| Seized | 17 | $72 | — |
Methodology: each figure is the median final winning bid on lots that closed on official U.S. government auction platforms (GovDeals, GSA Auctions, PublicSurplus, GovPlanet, PurpleWave and others) over the trailing 365days. Medians are used because auction prices are heavily right-skewed; no-bid lots are excluded and a category needs at least 5 completed sales to appear. The 3-month movement compares each category's most recent monthly median against the figure three months earlier. We snapshot the index daily, so the published series grows a permanent track record (11 days and counting). A sample of the platforms we index, not the entire government-auction universe. Free to cite with attribution to GovAuctions.
Drill into any category in the full price index, or browse live auctions.