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Monroe County

Pennsylvania · Upcoming sale ·

Sale dateNovember 12, 2026
Sale typedeed
PlatformBid4Assets (online repository sale)
Pennsylvania rate / penaltyNone — deed sold at auction

The Monroe County Tax Claim Bureau sells repository properties online on Bid4Assets almost every month, and the next sale on the Bid4Assets calendar is Thursday, November 12, 2026. These are parcels left unsold at the county's upset and judicial sales. Registration runs in the month before each sale, with Bid4Assets and with the Tax Claim Bureau, and winners must settle in full by 3:00 p.m. the next day.

A monthly repository sale

Monroe has run its repository sales on Bid4Assets through 2026: storefronts for May, July, August and October, the October sale held on the 14th, and the November sale listed on the calendar for November 12. The storefront for each month opens shortly before its sale with the parcel list; the November one was not yet live on October 16, so the parcels and minimums are not public yet.

The repository holds property that did not sell at the upset sale and then at the court-ordered judicial sale. Under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law, the Tax Claim Bureau can sell it for any price it sets, but only with the written consent of the taxing districts; a district that does not answer within 60 days is treated as consenting. The buyer takes it free and clear of claims, mortgages and liens, except separately taxed ground rents (RETSL § 627).

That is why repository lots can go cheap, and also why they need care: they are what nobody wanted at two earlier sales.

Registration: two places, one window a month

The October storefront spells out the routine. You register and fund your deposit with Bid4Assets first, and only then register with the Monroe County Tax Claim Bureau. Registration with both opens on the third Monday of each month and closes at 4:00 p.m. on the last Friday of the month, for the following month's sale. For the October 14 sale, the deposit deadline was September 30.

If that pattern holds for November, the window for the November 12 sale is in October: from Monday, October 19 to Friday, October 30 at 4:00 p.m. Confirm it on the November storefront when it opens or with the Bureau ([email protected]).

Registration with the county only needs doing once per calendar year. If you already registered for an earlier 2026 repository sale, you still fund a new deposit with Bid4Assets each month, but you do not register with Monroe again until 2027.

Deposit, premium and next-day settlement

The deposit is $500 plus a $35 processing fee, received by Bid4Assets before the deadline. One deposit lets you bid on every parcel in that month's sale. Non-winners are refunded by eCheck within about ten business days of the close.

Monroe settles fast. For the October sale, full payment was due at Bid4Assets by 3:00 p.m. ET the day after the auction. Plan for the same in November: payment by about 3:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13, if the timing repeats. A winner who misses the deadline forfeits the deposit and may be banned from future sales.

On top of the bid you pay a 5% buyer's premium (minimum $100) per parcel and a $35 administrative fee for each parcel won. On a $500 lot, that is $635 before transfer tax and recording.

Bidding and research

Bid4Assets runs these as no-reserve auctions: once you meet the opening bid, the highest bid wins. You can enter an automatic (proxy) bid and let the system raise your bid up to your maximum. If a bid comes in during the last minutes, the auction goes into overtime and stays open until a full overtime period, usually five minutes, passes with no new bid.

Research is the bidder's job. Bid4Assets urges every bidder to examine the title, location and desirability of a property before bidding, and to contact the county with any questions it cannot answer. A withdrawn or postponed parcel cannot be bid on, and Bid4Assets does not know why the county pulled it.

First-time Bid4Assets bidders also complete a USA Patriot Act registration when they open the deposit instructions; non-U.S. citizens have to contact customer service.

Three ways people lose money here

  1. 1. Registering in November for the November sale

    Registration closes on the last Friday of the month before the sale.

  2. 2. Needing a week to pay

    Monroe settlement has been due by 3:00 p.m. the day after the auction.

  3. 3. Forgetting the minimum premium

    The 5% premium is at least $100 per parcel, plus $35 per parcel won.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-16.

County snapshot

Population (2024)166,523
Change since 2020-1.1%
Net migration (2024)+323

Monroe County has lost 1.1% of its population since 2020, with net migration of 323 in 2024. Shrinking counties are where tax liens go wrong: redemption rates fall, and the property you end up owning can be worth less than the taxes you paid on it.

By population, Monroe County is the 20th largest of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. It has grown more slowly than the state average (-0.1% across Pennsylvania) — often where the less contested certificates are, and also where the risk sits. Of the 2024 change, 323 came from people moving in and 372 from deaths outnumbering births.

Counties of similar size in Pennsylvania with a sale on our calendar: Schuylkill County, York County, Chester County. Useful if this county's sale has already closed and you want the next comparable one.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Census population estimates. Population figures are estimates, not a count.

Property & tax profile

Median home value$267,600
Median tax / year$4,447
Tax / home value1.7%
Owned outright37.5%
“Other vacant”3.6%
Median year built1984

The median homeowner in Monroe County pays $4,447 a year in property tax — above the Pennsylvania median of $3,311 (U.S.: $3,119). That is roughly what a typical home here owes for each year it goes unpaid — the debt that the opening bid at a deed sale is usually built from, plus interest and costs. Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $4,576; homes owned outright, $4,188.

On a home with a mortgage, the lender has its own reason to pay a delinquent tax bill: the tax lien outranks the mortgage, and a tax deed can wipe out the loan. On a home owned outright, nobody but the owner — or the heirs — has that reason. In Monroe County, 37.5% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (Pennsylvania: 42.0%, U.S.: 39.4%). That is less than the state as a whole: more of the delinquent bills here sit on mortgaged homes, where the lender often steps in.

23.1% of all housing units in Monroe County are vacant. 17.7% of all units are seasonal or vacation homes, empty by design rather than abandoned. The figure that matters for a buyer at the tax sale is the Census “other vacant” category — not for rent, not for sale, not a holiday home, but a catch-all that includes foreclosures, homes held up by legal proceedings or family reasons, homes needing repairs, and abandoned ones. Here it is 3.6% of all units (Pennsylvania: 3.8%, U.S.: 3.6%). Close to the state rate.

Half of the homes in Monroe County were built in or before 1984 (Pennsylvania: in or before 1965) — newer than most of the state. The typical tax bill is 5.3% of the median household income of $83,565 (Pennsylvania: 4.2%).

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25077, B25103, B25081, B25002, B25004, B25035, B19013) — see the figures on data.census.gov. Survey estimates with margins of error; anything too uncertain to state is left out.

Note

Monthly repository sale of parcels unsold at the upset and judicial sales. $500 deposit; settlement by 3pm the next day (October terms).

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Quick answers

When is the Monroe County tax sale?+

The Monroe County, Pennsylvania tax sale is scheduled for November 12, 2026, hosted via Bid4Assets (online repository sale).

Is Monroe County a good county to buy tax deed properties in?+

Monroe County has lost 1.1% of its population since 2020, with net migration of 323 in 2024. Shrinking counties are where tax liens go wrong: redemption rates fall, and the property you end up owning can be worth less than the taxes you paid on it. Population in 2024: 166,523. These are U.S. Census Bureau estimates, not a recommendation — the county's own delinquency and redemption history matters more, and only the Pennsylvania treasurer publishes that.

How much is the property tax in Monroe County?+

The median homeowner in Monroe County pays $4,447 a year, about 1.7% of the median home value of $267,600 (Pennsylvania: 1.3%). Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $4,576, homes owned outright $4,188. These are U.S. Census Bureau survey estimates (American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates); the exact bill for a parcel depends on its assessed value and local rates, and the county tax collector has it.

What type of sale is it?+

Monroe County holds a tax deed sale. Pennsylvania's statewide system: tax deed. What the buyer earns: none — deed sold at auction.

What's the redemption period in Monroe County?+

Monroe County follows Pennsylvania's statewide redemption period: None after the sale (Philadelphia: ~9 months if occupied).

Other Pennsylvania sales near this date

Every Pennsylvania page →

Other sales in November 2026

All November 2026 sales →

Our write-up of the Monroe County sale: Aug 12, 2026.

Want the full statutory picture for Pennsylvania, not just Monroe County? Read the Pennsylvania state page for the rate, redemption period, and every other county we've sourced, or compare it with tax lien interest rates in every state. If a past sale left money over, how surplus funds are claimed in Pennsylvania.

Before you bid: how to research a tax sale property, what a tax lien or deed really costs and the risks investors run.

See every other scheduled sale on the full auction calendar, every sale in November 2026, the upcoming Pennsylvania sales, or sign up for deal alerts to hear about new Pennsylvania dates as soon as we add them.

This page is general information, not financial or legal advice. Auction dates get postponed, cancelled, or rescheduled — always confirm against the official source above before showing up or bidding. Verified 2026-10-16.