To sell land by owner in Arizona, you price it from closed sales, pull the deed and tax paperwork, give the buyer the A.R.S. 33-422 disclosure affidavit at least seven days before transfer, list it with a map and photos, screen offers, and close through a title company. No license is required: the state's real estate license article does not apply to an owner selling the owner's own property without special compensation (A.R.S. 32-2121). What you cannot skip is the paperwork. If you want the case for and against, read selling land without a realtor first; this page is the how-to for the owner who has decided to do it.
Plan on 9 to 24 months, which is the range for a for-sale-by-owner listing of vacant land. If you want it gone in 7 to 21 days, a cash sale is a different route and the last section of this page says when.
Step 1: Price it from closed sales
Do not price from asking prices. Price from what parcels like yours actually sold for. Over the 24 months through August 2026, the median vacant parcel statewide sold for $87,000 at 2 to 10 acres and $55,000 at 10 to 40 acres. Your county and size band will differ, sometimes by a factor of ten, so use the land value lookup, which prices your parcel against the sales around it.
A price at the median is a price buyers recognize. A price well above it tends to sit and go stale.
Step 2: Pull the paperwork
Gather the deed, the parcel number, the latest tax bill, any recorded easements and a survey if you have one. Check that the taxes are current and that no liens show on the county recorder's index; if either problem exists, fix it before you list, or plan to have it paid from the proceeds at closing. The paperwork guide lists every document a title company will ask for.
Step 3: The disclosure the law makes you give
If you are selling five or fewer parcels of unsubdivided land in an unincorporated part of a county, A.R.S. 33-422 requires you to give the buyer a sworn affidavit of disclosure at least seven days before the transfer. The buyer can rescind the sale for five days after receiving it. You record the affidavit along with the deed.
It covers 24 topics, including legal and physical access, road maintenance, the FEMA floodplain designation, soil hazards, utilities, water supply, septic systems, zoning and land division requirements, military airport proximity and title encumbrances. It must be in twelve-point type, and a buyer's waiver of your liability for a wrong answer is not binding. So fill it out honestly and early. The affidavit of disclosure guide goes through the form line by line. Land inside a city, or in a recorded subdivision, falls outside this rule, but a good listing answers the same questions anyway.
Step 4: Photos and a map
Land buyers want to see the boundary, the road in and the neighbors. Use the county assessor's parcel map or a drone shot with the lines drawn on it, label north, and add two or three ground photos from the corners. Skip the sunset.
Step 5: List it
Zillow, Realtor.com and the land marketplaces each reach different buyers, and the guide to selling land online in Arizona compares them. Whichever you use, put the parcel number, acreage, county, access and water situation in the first two lines. Put your phone number in, too. Rural land buyers call.
Step 6: Handle the offers
Expect three kinds. Individuals who want to build or hold and often ask for owner financing, which you should decide on before the first call. Investors who offer well below your price for a fast close, and who are a legitimate answer when a listing has sat. And the scams: anyone who wants to overpay you by check and wire back the difference, or who asks you to skip the title company. Every real buyer closes through escrow.
Lowball texts are normal. A reply that works: thank them, state your price and say it is based on recent closed sales nearby. If they come back within ten percent, talk.
Step 7: Sign a contract and open escrow
Both of you sign a written purchase agreement with the price, the deposit, the closing date and who pays what. Open escrow at an Arizona title company. The title company runs the title search, prepares the deed, collects the buyer's funds and records the deed. Arizona requires an affidavit, filed with the deed, listing the buyer, seller, legal description, parcel number and total price, and a title company will prepare it (A.R.S. 11-1133).
Step 8: Know what it costs
An agent on vacant land typically charges 10 percent under six figures, negotiable to about 6 percent on bigger deals, and selling yourself saves that. You still face closing costs, any back taxes and liens, and escrow charges, and the closing cost guide shows the line items and who usually pays them. What you spend instead is time, and for the owners who reach us it is usually the thing they cannot spare.
When selling by owner is the wrong plan
If a deadline is driving you, an estate settlement or a tax bill, nine months to two years does not fit. If the parcel has a problem, such as no recorded access, a buyer's lender will find it, and an owner without an agent has no one to absorb the argument. And if the land is in a market with few buyers, a listing just sits. For those cases, send us the parcel number; we will make a written cash offer, below retail, close in 7 to 21 days and pay the closing costs.
Common questions
Do I need a real estate license to sell my own land in Arizona? No. A license is not required when you sell your own property without special compensation (A.R.S. 32-2121).
Do I have to give a disclosure on vacant land? If it is five or fewer parcels of unsubdivided land in an unincorporated area, yes, under A.R.S. 33-422, at least seven days before transfer.
How long does it take to sell vacant land by owner? 9 to 24 months is the range we use, against 6 to 18 months with an agent.