The Cost of Selling a House in Australia (2026): Every Fee Explained

What it costs to sell a house

Selling a house in Australia comes with a stack of costs, most of which come out of your sale proceeds at settlement. Commission is the largest by a wide margin. The rest are smaller but they add up, and one of them, capital gains tax, only applies if the property is an investment rather than your home.

Here is the full list a seller usually faces:

• Agent commission, a percentage of the sale price (the biggest cost)
• Marketing and professional photography to list and promote the property
• Conveyancing or legal fees to handle the contract and settlement
• Styling, staging and repairs to present the home well
• Auctioneer fees if you sell at auction
• Mortgage discharge fees if you have a loan to pay out
• Capital gains tax if the property is an investment, not your main home

Agent commission (the big one)

Agent commission is the single largest cost of selling and the one most sellers overpay. It is charged as a percentage of the final sale price, so a higher sale price means a higher fee in dollar terms even at the same rate. Some agents charge a flat fee instead, and some add a performance incentive on the amount above an agreed target.

Rates vary by state and by market. They tend to sit lower in large capital cities, where property values are high, and higher in regional areas, where sale prices are smaller and the agent’s costs are spread over a lower number. There is no single national figure, which is exactly why comparing local agents matters.

The most important thing to understand is that commission is negotiable. Agents set their own rates, so the percentage on the first agency agreement you read is an opening number. Shaving even half a per cent off on a typical sale price is thousands of dollars back in your pocket. To negotiate well:

• Get written quotes from two or three agents who sell your type of property in your suburb
• Compare the rate against the service and the marketing budget, not in isolation
• Ask each agent to justify their rate, and be wary of one that is far higher with no clear reason
• Check whether the quote is inclusive of GST and what the marketing spend is on top

Work out the dollar figure for your own price and state with our commission calculator, then read the agent fees guide for the full breakdown of rates by state and what is and isn’t included.

Marketing and professional photography

Marketing is usually billed separately from commission and is paid by you, the seller, whether or not the property sells. A typical campaign covers professional photography, a listing on the major property portals, signboards, floor plans, and sometimes copywriting, video or a social media boost.

The right marketing spend is proportionate to your price and your market, not a fixed package you accept by default. Good photography is worth paying for because it drives the early enquiry that sets up competition. Premium portal placements and large print campaigns are where budgets balloon, so ask what each line item actually adds before you sign off on it.

Conveyancing and legal

You need a conveyancer or solicitor to prepare the contract of sale, handle vendor disclosure, manage the legal side of the transaction and settle the property. The fee is generally a fixed amount plus search and disbursement costs, and it is one of the more predictable line items in a sale.

It is a smaller cost than commission or marketing, but it is not optional and the work has to be done properly. Get a quote up front that separates the professional fee from the disbursements so you can compare like with like.

Styling, staging and repairs

Most homes need some money spent on presentation before they go to market. This is the most discretionary part of the budget, and it ranges from a clean, declutter and a few small repairs at the low end up to full professional styling with hired furniture at the high end.

The rule of thumb is to spend only where it pays for itself. A tidy, well-presented home does sell for more than a tired one of the same size, but money spent is not the same as value added, and many bigger upgrades return cents on the dollar. Cosmetic fixes, paint, garden tidy-ups and styling usually earn their keep. Major renovations rarely do when the sole aim is the sale. Our how to sell a house guide covers which presentation work is worth doing and which to skip.

Auction and auctioneer fees

If you sell by auction rather than private treaty, there is usually a separate auctioneer fee. Sometimes your agent acts as the auctioneer and it is built into the agreement, and sometimes an external auctioneer is engaged for the day at an extra cost.

It is a relatively small line item, but it is worth clarifying before you choose your method of sale. Confirm whether the auctioneer fee is included in the commission or charged on top, and whether it applies if the property is passed in.

Mortgage discharge fees

If you still have a home loan on the property, your lender charges a mortgage discharge fee to release the mortgage at settlement. It is a small, fixed administrative cost, but it is easy to forget when you tally up the sale.

If you are on a fixed-rate loan, there is a separate point to check: breaking a fixed term early can trigger a break cost, which is sometimes far larger than the discharge fee itself. Ask your lender for a written figure before you commit to a settlement date.

Capital gains tax on an investment

If the property is your main home, you generally pay no capital gains tax when you sell. This is the main residence exemption, and for most owner- occupiers it means CGT simply does not apply.

If the property is an investment, capital gains tax can be the single largest cost of selling, larger than commission. CGT is charged on the gain, broadly the difference between what you sell for and your cost base, and it is added to your taxable income for the year. The costs of buying and selling, such as commission, marketing, conveyancing and the stamp duty you originally paid, generally form part of the calculation and reduce the taxable gain.

A worked example

Here is an illustrative breakdown for a family home (not an investment, so no CGT) selling for $800,000. The figures are indicative only and every number swings with your agent, state and market.

Add it up and total selling costs on a sale like this often land somewhere around 2 to 4 per cent of the price before tax, with commission driving most of the figure. That is exactly why the commission line is worth the most attention. Run your own price through the commission calculator to size the biggest cost first.

Where to start

Knowing the costs is one thing. Keeping them down is another. Here is the order that saves the most:

1. Size the biggest cost. Run your price through the commission calculator so you know what commission means in dollars before any conversation.
2. Benchmark the fees. The agent fees guide shows the rates and inclusions to expect in your state.
3. Choose the right agent. Our guide to choosing a selling agent covers the interview, the over-quote trap and what to negotiate.
4. Read the full process. The how to sell a house guide walks through pricing, presentation and settlement end to end.