Selling a house usually costs about 8% to 10% of the sale price. On a $400,000 home, that's roughly $32,000 to $40,000, most of it agent commission, plus closing costs, prep, concessions and moving on top.
Selling a house usually costs about 8% to 10% of the sale price. On a $400,000 home, that's roughly $32,000 to $40,000, most of it agent commission (about 5-6%), plus seller closing costs (about 1-3%), and then prep, repairs, any buyer concessions and moving on top. Selling for cash skips most of those costs but usually comes at a lower sale price. The number that actually matters is your walk-away: the sale price minus every cost, which is the money you keep.
The biggest cost: agent commission
For most sellers, the single largest cost of selling a house is the real estate commission, historically around 5% to 6% of the sale price. On a $400,000 home, that alone is $20,000 to $24,000.
Since the 2024 industry settlement, commissions are more openly negotiable, and sellers are no longer automatically required to pay the buyer's agent. In practice many sellers still offer some buyer-agent compensation to attract offers, so it's worth treating commission as a negotiable line, not a fixed one. If you sell for cash without an agent, you skip this cost entirely, which is a big part of why a cash number can be competitive even at a lower price.
Seller closing costs
Beyond commission, sellers usually pay another 1% to 3% in closing costs. These vary by state, but typically include:
- Transfer or conveyance tax, a state (and sometimes municipal) tax on the sale. It's small in some states and significant in others: Massachusetts charges about 0.456% of the price, while Connecticut runs roughly 1% to 1.25% depending on the town.
- Attorney or settlement fees. In attorney-closing states you'll pay your closing attorney; elsewhere it's a settlement or escrow fee.
- Title costs and recording fees, meaning the owner's title policy (who pays varies by region) and the fee to record the deed.
- Prorated property taxes and any HOA dues, your share up to the closing date.
Repairs, prep and staging
To sell on the open market for top dollar, most homes need some preparation: cleaning, painting, minor repairs, sometimes staging. This can run from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the home's condition. A pre-listing inspection may also flag repairs a buyer's lender will insist on before closing. If a home needs major work, these costs climb quickly, which is often when sellers start comparing a listing against a straight cash sale.
Concessions and carrying costs
Two costs are easy to forget. Buyer concessions, credits toward repairs or the buyer's closing costs, are common when the market softens and can add another 1% to 2%. And carrying costs keep running the whole time your home sits on the market: mortgage, property taxes, insurance and utilities. The longer the sale takes, the more those add up, which is why time-to-sell is a real cost, not just an inconvenience.
What it costs to sell for cash, and the trade-off
A cash sale strips most of these costs out. There's typically no agent commission, no prep or repairs (a cash buyer usually purchases as-is), minimal closing costs, and the sale closes in days rather than months, so carrying costs nearly disappear.
The trade-off is the price: a cash offer is generally below full retail, because the buyer is taking on the repairs, the risk and the speed. So the honest comparison isn't 'cash is cheaper to sell' versus 'listing nets more', it's what you actually walk away with after all the costs on each path. Sometimes listing wins comfortably; sometimes, once commission, repairs and months of carrying costs are subtracted, the gap is much smaller than it looks.
| Cost | Listing with an agent | Selling for cash |
|---|---|---|
| Agent commission | ~5-6% (negotiable) | None |
| Seller closing costs | ~1-3% | Minimal |
| Repairs & prep | Often needed | None, sold as-is |
| Buyer concessions | 0-2% in a soft market | Rare |
| Carrying costs | Every month until it sells | Days, not months |
| Headline price | Full market price | Below full retail |
The number that actually matters: your walk-away
'How much does it cost to sell a house' is really a question about your walk-away: the sale price minus every cost above, minus whatever is left on your mortgage. That's the money that lands in your pocket, and it's the only figure worth comparing between selling for cash and listing with an agent.
This is exactly what PropVio is built to show. Enter your address and you'll see your home's estimated value plus your walk-away two ways, a cash sale and a listing with an agent, with the costs laid out, so you can see the real cost of each path for your home. If you decide to move forward, PropVio connects you with a local cash buyer or a licensed local agent, and if listing is the better number, it'll tell you.
Enter your address and see your value plus your cash and listing walk-aways. Free, in a few minutes, no pressure.
Common questions
What is the biggest cost of selling a house?
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Agent commission, historically about 5% to 6% of the sale price, though it's now more negotiable. On a $400,000 home that's $20,000 to $24,000, which is usually far larger than all the other selling costs combined.
How much are seller closing costs?
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Typically 1% to 3% of the sale price, on top of commission. They include transfer or conveyance tax, attorney or settlement fees, title and recording costs, and prorated property taxes, and they vary a lot by state.
Do I have to pay the buyer's agent?
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Not automatically. Since the 2024 industry settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately. Many sellers still offer some to attract buyers, but it's a negotiable cost rather than a fixed one.
How can I sell without paying commission?
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Selling for cash to a buyer directly avoids agent commission entirely. You typically also skip repairs and most closing costs, though the cash price is usually below full retail, so compare the walk-away, not just the commission you save.
What does it cost to sell a house for cash?
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Very little in fees: usually no commission, no repairs and minimal closing costs, with a close in days. The cost shows up in the price instead, because a cash offer is generally below full market value. The right way to compare is your net walk-away on each path.
How do I figure out my net proceeds?
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Start with your likely sale price, subtract commission, closing costs, repairs and concessions, then subtract your remaining mortgage balance. What's left is your net proceeds. A home sale calculator does this for you in a couple of minutes.
Home value estimators are usually accurate within a few percent for homes currently listed for sale, but the error is much larger for off-market homes, commonly around 7% or more. They're a useful starting point, not a final answer.
Listing with a realtor usually nets you more money if your home is in good shape and you can wait a couple of months for the sale to close. A cash offer almost always looks lower on paper, but once you subtract agent commission, repairs, closing costs and the months of carrying costs a listed home racks up, the gap narrows.
Market value is what a buyer will actually pay for your home in today's market. An appraisal is a licensed appraiser's professional opinion of that value, usually ordered by the buyer's lender to make sure the loan isn't larger than the home is worth.
