What Is Your Land Worth in Union County, North Carolina?

Your Union County land’s value depends on its location, entrance, ground and what comes with the sale. Start with similar land that has sold. Then ask a local land agent or appraiser to help choose a price range. A county average or tax value can’t answer that alone.

Start With the Right Land Record

Find a tax bill, deed and any survey you already have. Keep the property number, nearest road and acres if known in one folder. Add clear photos and a map pin if the land has no street address.

The Union County Tax Administration page links to Property Search. Start there to find the land’s tax record. If you need help, call 704-283-3746. Have the owner name, land location and property number if you know it.

The county’s GIS & Mapping page links to UC Atlas, its online map. Compare the acres, buildings and lots shown with the papers you have. Keep any difference on your question list.

The online map isn’t a survey. The county explains that UC Atlas is a tax map and doesn’t replace a survey. You don’t need to buy a new survey just to start asking about value. Share any survey you have and ask what an unclear boundary means for the sale.

If a property line looks wrong on the county map, the GIS page says to email GISHelp@unioncountync.gov. Mapping staff can work with the tax office on that question. Keep a copy of the paper that shows the difference.

Choose Sales That Offer Buyers Something Similar

Ask a local land agent for completed sales that fit your land’s setting and likely use. A small lot near town services may be a poor match for a larger pasture or wooded tract. A sale that includes a home is different from a sale of bare ground.

Check what each buyer actually got. Compare these details:

• Location and entrance: Note the road, entrance and any shared drive. Keep written access papers with the record.
• Ground: Compare open land, woods, slopes and wet areas. The same number of acres doesn’t mean the same amount of usable space.
• Buildings: List a house, barn or other structure in the deal. Don’t treat the whole price as the value of empty land.
• Services: Separate a working water or power connection from a line nearby. Share any well or septic papers you already have.
• Current use: Note a farm lease, tenant or neighborhood agreement. Explain which crops, buildings or equipment go with the sale.
• Size and date: Keep the closing date beside the acres and price. A small lot’s price per acre may not fit a larger tract.

A buyer’s future plan still needs checking. Don’t call land ready to build on just because nearby land has a house. Share existing permits or test results without promising that a new plan will work.

You’re putting together useful facts, not planning the buyer’s whole project. Ask the agent or appraiser which differences matter most to the price.

Use Recorded Papers to Check What a Sale Included

Ask a local land agent for completed sales of land like yours. For each example, ask for the property number, sale date, price and a source you can check. An asking price or an old listing marked off-market doesn’t prove a completed sale.

Use the county’s Land Records page to find recorded deeds and plats. A plat is a recorded drawing of land. Keep the deed book and page or document number beside each sale example.

The deed search uses names, not street addresses. If you only know an address, the county says to start with the Tax Assessor at 704-283-3746. Ask for help matching that location to a property record before looking for a deed.

Ask the agent which recorded paper supports the reported price and land included. If several lots sold together, check all of them. Don’t attach the whole deal’s price to each lot and count them as separate sales.

A sale with a house or barn may be a poor match for empty land. Keep the full deal beside the number of acres. If the deed and tax record seem to describe different land, ask what needs checking before using that example.

Missing a Deed? Here’s Where to Start

The Register of Deeds FAQ says online deeds go back to 1973. If the deed you need is older or you can’t find it online, that doesn’t mean there is no deed. Ask the office how to find a copy.

Call the Register of Deeds at 704-283-3843. Keep the owner name and any deed book and page ready. Ask what kind of copy you need, what it costs and how to receive it before making a trip.

The online deed lookup doesn’t include mortgage information. The county’s Land Records page explains that limit. A deed copy helps you prepare, but it doesn’t finish the ownership or loan check. Ask your closing attorney who will check ownership, loans and other recorded claims.

If a record raises a question about who needs to sign, keep the paper and ask the attorney for help. You don’t have to solve every legal question yourself. If you’re handling family land after a loss, start with the papers you have.

Make a Short Comparison Sheet

Use paper or a simple spreadsheet. Keep the checked facts beside unanswered questions rather than filling a gap with a guess.

For example, a made-up five-acre land sale at $60,000 works out to $12,000 per acre. A made-up two-acre property with a house at $250,000 works out to $125,000 per acre if you divide the whole price by its acres. That second calculation doesn’t tell you the value of empty land because the deal included a house.

These are math examples, not Union County sales or a price estimate. Keep the full price and included property beside the result. Only divide a checked land-only price by checked acres when the calculation is useful.

Turn the Good Matches Into a Price Range

Put the closest completed sales together and explain how your land differs. A local agent or appraiser can help you decide which examples deserve the most weight. Avoid adding a guessed dollar amount for each feature.

Keep active asking prices in a separate group. They show what sellers hope to receive. A completed sale shows what a buyer paid for that particular deal.

Check the year and included property on a tax record. A value that includes a house is a different starting point from the value of an empty lot. Use it as background, not as a promise of an offer.

If there are no close matches, say so. Ask what evidence would narrow the range. A farm lease, well or septic record, or existing survey may answer a specific question without needing new work.

For a written value opinion, ask a land appraiser what they would inspect, which sales they would use and what it costs. Tell them if you’re choosing an asking price, handling family land or comparing an offer.

The old March 2026 snapshot on this page wasn’t a checked set of land sales. It has been replaced with this guide. The land value guide explains the wider basics.

Keep Taxes Separate From Your Asking Price

Unpaid taxes may reduce the money you receive at closing. They don’t answer what the land itself is worth. Keep the value discussion and current balance as separate questions.

The county tax page links to online tax bills. Keep the latest bill and any payment receipt with your property record. For help checking a balance, call Tax Administration at 704-283-3746.

Ask what is owed now, which years the amount covers and whether there is another bill you need to check. An old bill alone may not show the current amount. If a notice has a deadline, ask the office to explain it without waiting for a buyer.

A tax value isn’t a buyer’s offer. Check the tax year and what property the value includes. A value for land with a house doesn’t tell you what the bare ground alone is worth.

Ask your closing attorney how balances will be confirmed and paid, and what that leaves you from the sale. Keep loan, lease and any special tax-program papers with your notes too.

When You Have an Offer, Check the Money You Keep

An offer is a buyer’s proposed deal. It may differ from an asking price or a written appraisal. Read what the buyer wants to check and when they can cancel.

Ask who pays the agent fee and closing costs. Check what loan, tax, or other balance may come out of your payment. Compare the money you keep, the conditions, and the target date, not just the price at the top.

You can list with an agent, sell the land yourself, or compare a direct offer. If you’d like one more option, tell Reelvest about your land. We’ll review the details and let you know if we can make an offer. You decide whether it fits.

For the broader selling process, see the Union County seller guide.

Questions About Union County Land Value

Local source links reviewed October 4, 2026.