The 2,700-acre property, located around 40 miles from Santa Barbara, California, is now called Sycamore Valley Ranch and has been listed for sale for $100 million.

Suzanne Perkins, of Sotheby's International Realty, acknowledged Jackson's large fanbase means the listings agent will need to do an ''extensive prequalification'' of potential buyers before showing the property.

She told the Wall Street Journal newspaper: ''Our seller is not encouraging a lot of showings. We're not going to be giving tours.''

The late singer's iconic abode - which he bought for $19.5 million in 1988 and subsequently rechristened it Neverland - is famous for featuring a train station, six bedrooms and a 50-seat cinema, but its future has been in limbo ever since Jackson's sudden death in June 2009.

The design of the property was inspired by the fictional location featured in the stories of Peter Pan, but Jackson opted to distance himself from the ranch and live elsewhere after his 2005 acquittal on charges that he molested children at the estate.

In 2008, amid financial troubles, real estate company Colony Capital LLC bailed out Jackson after he defaulted on the $24.5 million he owed on Neverland, putting the property into a joint venture it formed with the music star.