Fees and Costs Associated With Selling a House in 2024

Money is always top of mind when selling a house. But, in focusing on the equity portion, people are often surprised to learn how much it costs to sell a house in the U.S.

“Depending on the price range of the home, I tell my clients that they need to be ready to spend 9%–10% of the sale price on selling costs, including the real estate agent commission and closing costs,” says Joanne McCoy, a top-selling real estate agent in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Enter a few details about your home and we’ll provide you with a preliminary estimate of home value in less than two minutes. This won’t be a guarantee of what your home will sell for, but it is a helpful starting point.

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That doesn’t account for the money spent on preparing the home for listing or moving fees. To assist in tracking your total costs, we’ve put together a list of the common fees associated with selling a home, along with a description and the typical amount of each.

You can use this information to better estimate the amount you’ll actually pocket for reinvesting into your next home or creating your retirement nest egg.

Selling fee	Typical % of sale price
Real estate agent commission	3%-5.8%
Staging and prep costs	1%-4%
Inspections and repairs	varies
Title, settlement, and taxes	1%-3%
Seller concessions	0%-6%

Start with a home value estimate

A quick online price estimate can be a helpful starting point to orient yourself in the process. Using recent sales records, market trends, and your home’s latest selling price, HomeLight’s Home Value Estimator provides a preliminary range of value for your property in under two minutes. Enter your address to get started. It’s fast, and it’s free.

Real estate agent commission (3%-5.8%)

One of the first things you should do when you decide to sell your home is hire a top local agent. Research shows an agent’s expertise makes a big difference: In 2023, agent-assisted sellers sold their homes for a median of $405,000, compared to $310,000 for FSBO sellers.

If you work with a real estate agent, you’ll need to pay a commission for their assistance in pricing your home, marketing it to the masses, and negotiating with the other parties in order to get you the best possible price and terms, among other services.

The national average real estate agent commission has been around 5.8% of the property sales price. That commission covers the listing agent and buyer’s agent fees, so around 3% goes to each agent.

To access commission data specific to your area, consult HomeLight’s commission calculator and enter your city.

Find a Top-Rated Real Estate Agent

Transaction data at HomeLight shows that the top 5% of real estate agents sell homes for as much as 10% more. Connect with top agents in your area today who can help you maximize your property value and offset some of the costs and fees. Our service is free and agents can’t pay to be listed, so you get the best match.

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How is your commission divided between agents?

Your real estate agent does not take home all of their commission. It is typically split with their brokerage. Every agent has an agreement with the brokerages in which they hold their real estate license as to how their commission is split.

For example, say you sell your home for $300,000 with your agent getting a 3% commission rate, and your agent has a 60/40 split agreement with their brokerage. That puts your agent’s commission at $9,000. Here’s how that will break down:

• Seller’s agent:  $5,400 (60% of their $9,000 commission share)
• Seller’s broker: $3,600 (40% of their $9,000 commission share)

from HomeLight Blog https://www.homelight.com/blog/what-fees-are-associated-with-selling-a-house/