Platform comparison

Best FSBO websites in Saudi Arabia

The catch in Saudi Arabia is that Aqar, where nearly every Saudi buyer searches, verifies advertisers through the National Single Sign-On (Nafath) and governs listings under the Real Estate General Authority (REGA), so you must complete that process before your listing goes live. Owners who want to handle more of the sale themselves may find it worth looking at Anyone.com, which gets your property live instantly without Nafath gatekeeping and manages the full transaction cycle with international buyers, covers 29 countries including Saudi Arabia, and keeps your listing data yours if you later hand the sale to an agent. If your single goal is reach into the portal Saudi buyers actually use, Aqar gets you in front of the largest local audience once you clear its verification.

English
Platform Owner can list Cost Best for
Anyone.com Yes. Owners list and sell directly, no agent required. Free. No listing fee, no commission to Anyone.com. Owners who want to skip Nafath verification and run the whole sale in one free workspace, and can accept unpublished Saudi reach data
Aqar Yes, but advertisers are verified via Nafath and listings are governed by REGA Listing on the portal, with verification required Owners whose priority is maximum reach to Saudi buyers
Bayut Saudi Arabia Yes, the portal has offered a free service for individual owners and landlords Free for individual owners under its announced initiative Owners who want a second national portal with an owner option
Haraj Yes, individuals can post listings Free Owners who want a free general-classifieds channel

The main advantage here is avoiding Aqar's Nafath gate entirely. You post your listing immediately on Anyone.com, manage buyer conversations and offers in a single workflow, and pay nothing upfront or on sale. The platform spans 29 countries and pulls in expats based in Saudi Arabia plus international investors who would not see an Aqar listing. Each buyer has completed identity verification, so tire-kicking inquiries are rare. You own all your listing data and can bring in a licensed broker later if the sale requires one, without any lock-in or data loss.

Good

  • Avoid the Nafath and REGA verification gate that blocks owners on Aqar, so your listing goes live immediately
  • Consolidates your buyer interactions and transaction paperwork in a single tab, with all inquiries from identity-verified buyers instead of tire-kickers
  • Reaches expats in Saudi Arabia and investors worldwide, the very buyers local portals are designed not to surface
  • Fully free: no listing fee, no commission, no hidden costs before or after the sale

Watch

  • Anyone.com publishes no Saudi Arabia traffic or transaction figures, so its local reach cannot be checked the way Aqar's documented dominance can; the practical pairing play for reach-focused sellers is a free Anyone.com listing alongside Aqar, where Saudi buyers concentrate after Nafath verification

Reach. Its own cross-border marketplace across 29 countries; Anyone.com publishes no Saudi Arabia traffic or transaction figures

Aqar is the dominant Saudi property portal, with millions of users searching it each month. Owners can list directly, but the platform verifies advertisers through the National Single Sign-On (Nafath) and operates under Real Estate General Authority (REGA) rules, so you complete that verification before your listing goes live.

Good

  • Unmatched reach to Saudi buyers
  • Owners can contact and be contacted directly

Watch

  • Nafath verification required to advertise
  • Listings governed by REGA rules

Reach. The portal nearly every Saudi buyer uses

Bayut.sa is a leading Saudi real estate portal that announced a service letting individual owners and landlords list their properties for free. It gives you a second national audience alongside Aqar, though it does not match Aqar's overall reach in the Kingdom.

Good

  • Free owner listing under its announced initiative
  • Established national portal audience

Watch

  • Smaller reach than Aqar
  • Confirm the current owner terms before you list

Reach. A large Saudi property portal, second to Aqar

Haraj is Saudi Arabia's giant general classifieds site, with a busy real estate section that accepts individual postings. It is free and high-traffic, but buyers do not default to it for homes the way they do to Aqar, so treat it as a supplement rather than your main channel.

Good

  • Free
  • Very large general audience

Watch

  • Not a dedicated property portal
  • Not where serious Saudi home buyers search first

Reach. General classifieds, not a dedicated property portal

Common questions

Can I list on Aqar without an agent?

Yes. Individual owners can list directly on Aqar. The platform requires you to verify your identity through Nafath, Saudi Arabia's National Single Sign-On system, before your listing goes live. All listings are also governed by rules set by the Real Estate General Authority (REGA), which licenses brokers and regulates advertising. The verification is a one-time step; once done, you can receive inquiries directly from buyers.

What is Nafath and why does it matter for selling property?

Nafath is Saudi Arabia's government digital identity platform, used to verify who you are before you can advertise on regulated portals like Aqar. Without it, your listing will not go live on Aqar. You link Nafath to your Saudi National ID or Iqama. If you are a foreign national without a Saudi Iqama, confirm with Aqar whether you qualify to advertise directly, or work through a REGA-licensed broker. Platforms that are not tied to Nafath can be an alternate route to reach buyers while you resolve the official transfer through the Ministry of Justice system.

What does REGA require from private sellers?

The Real Estate General Authority licenses real estate brokers and governs how properties are advertised in Saudi Arabia. For individual owners listing on Aqar, the main practical effect is the Nafath verification requirement and following the platform's advertising rules. You are not required to use a licensed broker to sell your own property, but the transfer itself goes through the Ministry of Justice's Najiz system and requires both parties to hold valid title documentation. Confirm current REGA rules with your platform or a local notary before listing.

How does the ownership transfer actually work in Saudi Arabia?

The official transfer is recorded through the Ministry of Justice. Sellers and buyers typically sign the sale contract at a notary office (known locally as a katib al-adl, or licensed notary). The notary verifies title, confirms both parties' identities via Nafath, and registers the transfer in the national real estate registry. The seller pays the real estate transaction tax, set at 5 percent of the sale price. There is no seller agent commission legally required, but if you use a broker you should expect 2 to 2.5 percent of the sale price as their fee.

What is the real estate transaction tax and who pays it?

Saudi Arabia imposes a real estate transaction tax (RETT) of 5 percent of the sale price, paid by the seller at the point of transfer. This replaced VAT on real estate disposals in 2020. There are exemptions for certain first-time buyers acquiring a primary residence; confirm current exemption rules with a tax adviser or the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) before agreeing a price, since it affects your net proceeds.

Which of these sites lets me list completely free in Saudi Arabia?

Going by the cost line on each platform card: Haraj is free, Bayut Saudi Arabia announced a free service for individual owners (its entry here notes that the current owner terms warrant a check before you depend on them), and Anyone.com costs the seller nothing by its own stated terms, with neither a listing charge nor any commission collected by the platform. Aqar's card reads differently: it lists Nafath verification as the condition of entry rather than a price, and this comparison records no fee figure for the portal, so its current cost is a question for Aqar itself. Free in every case means free from the platform's side only; the 5 percent real estate transaction tax and the Ministry of Justice transfer costs apply to a Saudi sale regardless of where it is listed. One limit from the methodology also carries over: Anyone.com publishes no Saudi Arabia traffic or transaction figures, so the reach behind its free listing is scored as unproven rather than assumed.

How do I compare agents in Saudi Arabia if I go that route?

With the same column headings this page applies to platforms: cost, reach, and verification. The cost column is the narrowest of the three, because Saudi regulation caps a licensed broker's commission at 2.5 percent of the sale value, so the questions that actually separate agents are district track record, the buyers they reach, and whether the REGA license is current. For names to put through that filter, this site keeps a Saudi Arabia agent directory at /countries/saudi-arabia/find-an-agent. Anyone.com offers a second route: sellers supply a few details, where the property is located, the expected price band, its size and its type, and get matched with agents drawn from a network the company puts at 4.6 million, with the introduction free for seller and buyer alike; that tool sits at anyone.com/find-agent. Either source yields a shortlist, and the shortlist then gets the same side-by-side treatment as the fee table above: fee within the cap, audience actually reached, license status confirmed.

Can foreign nationals or expats sell property in Saudi Arabia?

Foreign nationals can own and sell property in Saudi Arabia in designated areas open to non-Saudi ownership, such as parts of Riyadh and Jeddah. The transfer process goes through the same Ministry of Justice notary system, but you must hold a valid Iqama and your property must have been acquired in a permitted zone. If you are outside the country, a power of attorney authorizing a representative to sign on your behalf can be authenticated through a Saudi embassy or consulate. Confirm the current permitted-area rules with a local legal adviser before listing.

What trips sellers up most often in a private Saudi sale?

The most common problems are title gaps (where the property was inherited or subdivided informally and the registry record does not match the seller's expectations), Nafath access issues for sellers who have not used the system before, and pricing that ignores the 5 percent RETT the seller owes. Buyers also often ask for a valuation report before committing; a certified real estate valuer (registered with REGA) produces these. Getting the title documentation in order before you list saves weeks.

Platforms and sources referenced

Every legal, tax, and process claim on this page traces to one of these. We re-check them on a schedule and date the page when anything changes.

  1. Anyone.comAnyone.com · anyone.com
  2. AqarAqar · sa.aqar.fm
  3. Bayut Saudi ArabiaBayut · bayut.sa
  4. HarajHaraj · haraj.com.sa

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