How Much Does it Cost To Sell a Home Today?

By Burt Tsuei

A Realtor with 20+ Years of proven track record of high quality service in the San Mateo County/Bay Area. A lifelong Bay Area resident, Burt works with buyers and sellers from Pacifica to South San Francisco to Redwood City and beyond. Burt is passionate about selling real estate in the mid-peninsula, and inspired by his clients’ goals and dreams. No matter what your unique needs are, whether you’re transitioning from city living or stepping up to a larger home, his mission comes straight from the heart: to protect your best interests and make your experience seamless.

Are you planning on selling your home in the near future? Now is a great time to sell; many homeowners have a ton of equity in their properties. However, you should know that selling your home isn’t all profit. There are costs you need to pay that you don’t want to be caught off guard by. That’s why today, I’m sharing a few of the most common costs associated with selling your home and a few things you can do to prepare for them.

1. Costs before the sale. These are all the things you should do before listing your home on the MLS including items like inspections, repairs, renovations, and cleaning. While most of these things aren’t 100% necessary, every agent will recommend you do them if you want to get the most money possible for your home. For example, a clean home with a few simple repairs and cosmetic upgrades will get way more attention from buyers than a home that’s listed as is. That’s why I always recommend having a pre-listing meeting with your agent to go over which pre-listing costs will improve your sale and fit your budget.

2. Costs of selling. These are the costs that come with a real estate transaction and include things like listing agent commission, buyer’s agent commission, marketing costs, and more. Depending on who your agent is and what they offer, the cost of their commission could range from 3% to 6%. Plus, many agents also offer different commission packages, so you can customize what type of service you get based on your budget.

3. Closing costs. These costs go towards transferring the ownership of a property from one person to another and include things like title fees, escrow fees, mortgage insurance, seller concessions, notary fees, and more. While seller concessions can be negotiated, and closing costs can vary based on the value of your property, you can generally expect to pay between 0.5% and 1% of the total sales price at closing.

Planning for a home sale is a lot of work, but we can help. Just call or email us today, and we’ll help you analyze and break down how much cash you need to sell your home. We look forward to hearing from you!