How Long Should It Take to Sell Land in Today’s 2026 Market?

Selling vacant land typically takes 6–12 months (or longer). Compared with selling a home, land sales usually move slower because the buyer pool is smaller, financing is harder to secure, and buyers often need more time for due diligence (zoning, utilities, access, soil, environmental constraints, and permitting). Below, you’ll find a practical breakdown of what influences your timeline, plus days-on-market benchmarks and strategies to help you sell faster.

Land vs. Houses: Why Land Often Takes Longer to Sell

Land tends to sit longer than homes for three consistent reasons:

• A smaller buyer pool: Homes serve an immediate need (shelter), while land buyers are usually searching for a very specific use—building, investing, farming, recreation, or holding for appreciation. That narrows demand and stretches the time it takes to find the right match.
• Financing friction: Vacant land loans are less common than traditional mortgages and often require larger down payments and higher rates. Some buyers can only proceed if you offer alternatives like owner financing or a land contract—options that can add complexity but expand demand.
• Longer due diligence: Buyers often investigate setbacks, zoning, access, easements, utilities, wetlands/flood risk, perc/septic feasibility, and buildability before committing. That extra research time can slow offers, negotiations, and closing.

Bottom line: land is a niche asset with more variables, so sellers should plan for a longer timeline than a typical house sale.

Days on Market (DOM): State and County Benchmarks

Location and price strongly influence how long land takes to sell. Here are example days-on-market benchmarks across several major states and counties to help set expectations.

California

• Los Angeles County: 180 days
• San Bernardino County: 210 days
• Riverside County: 200 days

Even in high-demand Southern California, vacant land often averages about 6–7 months on market. High prices, limited buildable inventory, and the push into outlying areas can reduce the buyer pool for raw parcels, especially in desert and mountain regions.

Texas

• Harris County: 170 days
• Travis County: 160 days
• Bexar County: 150 days

Texas metros can move land in roughly 5–6 months on average, but land still trails housing demand. As you get farther from core job centers—or as infrastructure becomes less certain—timelines often extend.

Florida

• Miami-Dade County: 200 days
• Orange County: 190 days
• Hillsborough County: 180 days

In Florida’s largest population centers, land commonly takes about 6–7 months. Environmental review, zoning constraints, flood considerations, and extended title/due diligence steps can all add time to a deal.

New York

• Nassau County: 220 days
• Westchester County: 240 days
• Suffolk County: 230 days

In New York’s suburban counties, land can take 7–8 months. Higher carrying costs, limited buildable parcels, and more extensive review processes can lengthen buyer decision cycles.

Illinois

• Cook County: 210 days
• DuPage County: 200 days
• Lake County: 190 days

Across the Chicago-area counties listed above, land often sells in about 6–7 months. Seasonal slowdowns and the relatively smaller audience for vacant lots can keep DOM elevated even in dense metro regions.

Important: These DOM figures are directional benchmarks, not guarantees. Your timeline can change significantly based on parcel size, zoning/buildability, access, utility proximity, topography, neighborhood comps, listing quality, and pricing strategy.

Off-Grid Land vs. Infill Lots: How the Land Type Changes the Timeline

Land type can matter as much as location.

Off-grid (rural) land: typically 6–12 months or longer

Off-grid land—property without nearby utilities, reliable access, or established infrastructure—often takes 6–12 months (or longer) to sell. Three factors usually drive the delay:

• Highly specific buyer demand: Off-grid parcels appeal to a smaller group (recreation, homesteading, agriculture, or long-term holds).
• Higher development burden: If buyers need power, water, septic, driveway access, or road improvements, they must budget time and money before the land becomes usable.
• Harder financing: Many lenders see raw/off-grid land as higher risk, which pushes more deals toward cash buyers or seller financing.

Infill city lots: often 3–6 months

Infill lots in established neighborhoods tend to sell faster—often within 3–6 months—because they usually offer:

• Immediate utility access (power, water, sewer) and existing roads
• Stronger appraisal support from nearby homes and comparable lots
• Broader buyer demand (builders, developers, investors, and custom-home buyers)
• More financeable conditions due to clearer comps and build pathways

Even then, land still commonly sells slower than a move-in-ready home—especially if permitting or site constraints introduce uncertainty.

How to Sell Land Faster: Practical, Modern Strategies

You can’t force the market, but you can remove friction. These strategies often reduce days on market and increase buyer confidence:

Price competitively from day one

Land buyers shop aggressively and walk quickly when pricing doesn’t match reality. Use recent comparable land sales, not just active listings, and account for differences in access, utilities, zoning, and topography. Overpricing is one of the fastest ways to turn a 6-month sale into a 12-month listing.

Upgrade your marketing to match how buyers search today

Most land discovery starts online. Treat your listing like a product page:

• High-resolution photos plus drone imagery
• Parcel boundaries and a clear map view
• Access notes (road type, easements, gate codes)
• Utility distance estimates and provider info where available
• Zoning, allowed uses, and build constraints in plain language

Clear, scannable details reduce buyer uncertainty and speed up decision-making.

Offer financing (or at least make it easy to understand)

Because vacant-land financing is limited, owner financing can materially widen your buyer pool. If you offer terms, present them clearly (down payment, interest rate, amortization, balloon, prepayment rules) and use proper paperwork through a title company or attorney.

Work with a land-specialist agent (or build a specialist-level listing)

An agent who regularly sells land understands how to position buildability, estimate development hurdles, and reach the right buyers. If you sell by owner, mirror that expertise with strong documentation and fast answers.

Preempt due diligence questions

Speed increases when buyers don’t have to guess. Provide what you can upfront:

• Zoning designation and permitted uses
• Survey (or at least clear boundary references)
• Known easements, access status, and HOA/CC&Rs
• Septic/perc info where relevant
• Environmental constraints you’re aware of

Transparency builds trust and reduces renegotiations late in the process.

Add “ready-to-build” value where it counts

In many markets, small upgrades can shorten timelines and increase offers—especially for raw land. Examples include lot splits (where feasible), securing or validating septic feasibility, and preparing pre-approved building concepts that help buyers visualize the end result.

Conclusion

Most vacant land takes 6–12 months or longer to sell, and timelines vary widely by location, parcel characteristics, and buyer certainty. Off-grid land typically takes longer than infill city lots, and both usually take longer than selling a home.

If you want to shorten your selling timeline, focus on pricing accuracy, high-clarity marketing, buyer-friendly financing options, and proactive due diligence documentation. Patience helps—but preparation sells.