The short version
- A traditional listing usually costs the seller a 5 to 6 percent commission. On a $250,000 parcel that is about $12,500 to $15,000.
- Vacant land often sits on the market far longer than houses, and a buyer's financing can still fall through.
- Selling direct to us means no commission, no closing costs to you, and a closing date you choose.
- Listing can still win when your land is clearly buildable and priced for retail buyers. We will tell you honestly if that is your situation.
What a realtor listing actually costs on land
When you list with an agent, the standard commission runs about 5 to 6 percent of the sale price, paid by the seller at closing. On a $250,000 lot that is roughly $12,500 to $15,000 out of your proceeds. You may also pay for a survey, clearing or maintenance to make the land show well, and you carry the property taxes the entire time it sits unsold.
Land is also harder to sell than a house. Most buyers need to picture what they would build, line up financing for raw ground (which banks treat more cautiously than homes), and clear zoning and environmental questions before they commit. That is why vacant parcels often spend many months, sometimes longer, on the market.
How a direct sale compares
When you sell to us, you are the seller and we are the buyer, with no agent in between. There is no commission, we pay the closing costs, and we are not waiting on a bank, so the deal does not collapse over financing. You pick the closing date.
| Listing with an agent | Selling direct to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | ~5 to 6% (you pay) | None |
| Closing costs | Typically the seller's | We pay them |
| Time to sell | Often months on raw land | On your timeline |
| Financing risk | Buyer's loan can fall through | Cash, no loan |
| Prep work | Survey, clearing, showings | None required |
| Restricted parcels | Hard to attract buyers | We buy them |
Most agents do not know how to sell land
This is the part nobody tells you. Most real estate agents are trained to sell houses, not land, and land is a different animal. Nine times out of ten, when a buyer calls about a listed lot, the agent cannot answer the questions that actually matter: how it is zoned, what can be built on it, whether it is in the Pinelands, whether there are wetlands or a CAFRA flag, whether it perc tests, or what the path to a permit looks like. The buyer loses confidence and moves on.
It gets worse at pricing. Agents who do not understand land often pull a number from nearby home sales instead of comparable land sales, so the lot gets listed at the wrong price from day one. The result is the same story over and over: the parcel sits, the price gets cut, and it sits some more. It is not unusual for a piece of land in South Jersey to sit on the market for one to two years, or longer, before it sells, if it ever does. Selling to a buyer who actually understands land skips that whole ordeal.
When listing might be the better choice
We will not pretend direct is always best. If your land is clearly buildable, in a desirable spot, and you are not in a hurry, a retail buyer paying top dollar through an agent can sometimes net you more even after commission. Where direct tends to win is on land that is restricted, landlocked, inherited, behind on taxes, or just hard to move. If listing is genuinely your better path, we will tell you.
Sources & related
- Commission and FSBO cost context: HomeandLandExperts, LandBoss (2026).
- Selling land without a realtor in New Jersey
- How selling your land works