The expedited process had completed about 61% of approved disposals
A September 21 Government Accountability Office review found that 14 of 23 properties approved through the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act process had been disposed of as of August 2026. That leaves nine—39.1%—not yet disposed as the temporary board approaches its scheduled December 2026 end.
Completed sales totaled about $576 million. Most came from the 2019 round; GAO said cost and schedule estimates were shifting for many properties approved in the 2025 round, making completion dates unclear.
| Measure | Published result |
|---|---|
| Approved properties | 23 |
| Disposed properties | 14 (60.9%) |
| Not yet disposed | 9 (39.1%) |
| Sales proceeds | About $576M |
| Final board date | December 2026 |
Sale proceeds existed, but access was interrupted
FASTA created a fund intended to help pay the costs of future disposals. Congress appropriated $90 million to that fund from 2016 through 2022, but made no additional FASTA appropriation in 2023, 2024 or 2025. GAO said GSA therefore could not access the full amount of deposited sale proceeds during that span.
Congress provided about $143 million more in 2026. Stakeholders told GAO that uncertainty about fund access complicated planning and budgeting. Occupied buildings create another constraint because federal tenants must be relocated before a sale can close.
The original finding is the unfinished share at the deadline
The public-interest question is whether a law designed to accelerate disposal cleared the approved inventory before its temporary structure ended. The record shows meaningful proceeds, but only about three-fifths of approved properties were complete by August and the newer round carried uncertain schedules.
That ratio does not establish failure for every remaining property. Complex environmental, historic-preservation, relocation and market issues can make a later sale more responsible than a rushed one. It establishes that expedited approval did not itself guarantee timely execution.
Method, agency status and limitations
The newsroom divided GAO’s 14 completed disposals by 23 approved properties and subtracted to identify the unfinished count. Percentages are calculated from rounded whole-property counts; the $576 million figure remains GAO’s approximate total.
GAO made no new recommendation. A prior recommendation that GSA collect and apply FASTA lessons remained open as of August 2026. The public summary does not provide property-by-property carrying costs, so this report does not estimate the expense of delay.