Indicative figures, not quotes
Commission is not regulated in Victoria and every other line is quoted individually by agents, conveyancers and lenders. The ranges here are typical market figures as at September 2026. Get written quotes for your own sale and confirm anything tax-related with the ATO or a registered tax agent.
Victoria has the cheapest agent commission in Australia and one of the more expensive sets of legal documents. Melbourne metro rates of 1.6% to 2.2% are common, and the Section 32 vendor statement, which must be given to the buyer before they sign, costs $300 to $800 in certificates before the conveyancer's fee.
Two Victorian rules also move money in the seller's favour. An agent must pass on any rebate they receive on advertising or other expenses, and since 1 January 2024 a seller cannot pass their land tax on to the buyer at settlement for a sale under $10 million, which matters if the property is an investment.
What it costs to sell in Victoria
Commission is the biggest line, not the only one. This is the Victoria summary in Victoria’s numbers, worked at a $800,000 sale. The cost of selling a house in Victoria guide goes through every line and what is different in Victoria; the national cost of selling guide explains each line in full.
| Cost | Typical range | At $800,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Agent commission Negotiable; GST of 10% usually applies on top. | 1.6% to 2.5% | $12,800 to $20,000 $16,000 at the typical 2% |
| Marketing and photography Portal listing, photography, floor plan and signboard. Quoted by the agent and payable whether or not the property sells. | $2,000 to $8,000 | $2,000 to $8,000 |
| Conveyancing or solicitor Professional fee plus searches and disbursements. | $800 to $2,500 | $800 to $2,500 |
| Section 32 vendor statement Title, planning, water and council certificates, plus an owners corporation certificate for a unit, given to the buyer before they sign. | $300 to $800 | $300 to $800 |
| Auctioneer (if you sell at auction) Only if you sell at auction; sometimes included in the agency agreement. | $400 to $1,200 | $400 to $1,200 |
| Mortgage discharge (if you have a mortgage) The lender's fee to release the mortgage at settlement. Break costs on a fixed-rate loan are separate and can be far larger. | $150 to $400 | $150 to $400 |
| Total Low end: private treaty, no mortgage, everything at the bottom of its range. High end: auction with a mortgage, everything at the top. | 2% to 4.1% of the price | $15,900 to $32,900 |
As at September 2026. Commission is this guide’s typical Victoria range. The marketing, conveyancing, auctioneer, discharge and section 32 vendor statement figures are indicative ranges: each is quoted individually and no Victoria survey publishes them, so treat them as a budget, not a price list. What the section 32 vendor statement must contain: Consumer Affairs Victoria: Selling property. Capital gains tax is separate and applies to an investment property, not the home you live in.
Selling costs calculator for Victoria
Preset to the typical Victoria commission of 2% and the mid-point of the section 32 vendor statement range. Change any figure, add your loan balance, and the result shows what lands in your account at settlement. The full selling costs calculator covers every state.
Your sale
Agent
Typical in VIC: 1.6% to 2.5%, most often around 2%.
Most quotes exclude it. Check the agency agreement.
Portal listing, photos, floor plan, signboard. Typically $2,000 to $8,000; payable even if it does not sell.
Legal and presentation
Typically $800 to $2,500 including disbursements.
Victoria: typically $300 to $800.
Optional. Styling alone often runs $2,000 to $8,000 for a six-week campaign.
Pool safety or smoke alarm certificates, strata certificates, removalists.
Mortgage
Leave at 0 if the property is unencumbered.
What selling costs you in Victoria
- Agent commission (2%)
- $16,000
- GST on commission
- $1,600
- Marketing and photography
- $4,000
- Conveyancing or solicitor
- $1,400
- Legal documents and searches
- $550
- Total cost of selling (2.9% of the price)
- $23,550
- Net proceeds before the loan
- $776,450
- Estimated cash at settlement
- $776,450
Indicative only. Commission is negotiable and every other line is quoted individually. Capital gains tax on an investment property and rates or water adjustments at settlement are not included; the CGT calculator covers the tax.
Commission in Victoria
Agents in Victoria typically charge 1.6% to 2.5% of the sale price, with around 2% the most common rate. At the $800,000 this guide works its examples at, that is $12,800 to $20,000, or $16,000 at the typical rate, before GST. On the Melbourne median dwelling value of $786,718 (Cotality, August 2026) the same range is $12,587 to $19,668, with $15,734 typical. The difference between the top and bottom of the range on a median Melbourne sale is $7,081, which is why the rate is worth a conversation. Our Victoria commission guide has the detail and the negotiation guide the method.
Two checks before you compare rates. Ask whether the quote includes GST: a 2% rate excluding GST is 2.20% all-in. And ask what is included: some agents bundle the auctioneer and part of the marketing, others charge every item separately, so the cheaper rate is not always the cheaper agent. See fixed fee vs commission for the alternative models.
The Section 32 vendor statement
Section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 requires you to give the buyer a signed vendor statement before they sign the contract, covering title, mortgages and covenants, planning and zoning, rates and outgoings, building permits in the last seven years, owners corporation details for a unit, and more. Your conveyancer or solicitor prepares it from certificates ordered from the council, water authority, Land Use Victoria and the owners corporation, typically $300 to $800 in fees plus their professional charge. A defective statement lets the buyer rescind any time before settlement, so this is not the place to economise. Our Section 32 guide goes through every item.
Rebates must come back to you
Under section 48A of the Estate Agents Act 1980, an agent may not keep any rebate, discount or commission they receive on advertising, photography or other expenses charged to you, even if you agree to it. The authority you sign must contain a rebate statement saying whether they expect one. Ask for the invoices behind the marketing schedule and check the rebate line; the penalty for keeping one is up to 60 penalty units ($12,546 in 2026-27) and the money is recoverable by you.
Land tax cannot be passed to the buyer
Since 1 January 2024, section 10G of the Sale of Land Act 1962 makes any clause in a contract under $10 million that requires the buyer to pay an amount towards the vendor's land tax of no effect, and it is an offence to enter such a contract. For an owner-occupier this changes nothing, because a principal place of residence is exempt from land tax. For an investor selling a Melbourne property it means the whole year's land tax stays with you rather than being apportioned at settlement, which can be several thousand dollars on a higher-value holding.
Auctions, and the October 2026 reserve rule
Melbourne has the highest auction share in the country, and the auctioneer is often the listing agent or a colleague included in the fee; where charged separately expect $400 to $1,200. From 1 October 2026, for auctions held on or after 16 October, the seller's reserve must be a single figure published in advertising at least seven days before the auction, so the reserve conversation now happens earlier in the campaign. Our reserve price guide explains what changes for sellers.
Tax
Land transfer duty is the buyer's cost. Your main residence is normally exempt from capital gains tax; an investment is not, and the CGT calculator gives an estimate after selling costs.
Since 1 January 2025 every seller of Australian property needs an ATO clearance certificate before settlement, whatever the price. Without one the buyer must withhold 15% of the price and pay it to the ATO, and you wait for your tax return to get it back. The certificate is free, applied for online, and usually issued within days; ask your conveyancer to lodge it the week you list.
Where you can save
- The rate. Every 0.1% on a $800,000 sale is $800. Get three appraisals, ask each agent to justify their rate against their last ten results, and ask for a tiered structure that pays more above a target price.
- Marketing. Insist on an itemised schedule, choose the portal tier that fits the price bracket, and ask about rebates. A $4,000 campaign sells most suburban houses; $8,000 is for a premium listing, not a default.
- Presentation. Spend where it returns: a clean, decluttered, freshly painted home photographs like a styled one. Our guide to what to fix before selling ranks the jobs, and home staging costs shows when styling pays.
- The method of sale. An auction adds the auctioneer and usually a bigger marketing budget. It earns that back in a competitive market and not in a slow one; auction vs private treaty sets out when.
- Timing the loan. If you are on a fixed rate, ask the lender for the break cost before you list. It can be larger than every other line in the table combined, and a settlement date after the fixed term ends may avoid it.
As a share of the price, Victoria selling costs at $800,000 run 2.0% to 4.1% before tax. The national guide to the cost of selling a house explains each line in full.
Cost of selling in other states
- Cost of selling a house in New South Wales: commission 1.8% to 2.5%.
- Cost of selling a house in Queensland: commission 2.3% to 2.9%.
- Cost of selling a house in South Australia: commission 1.8% to 2.75%.
- Cost of selling a house in Western Australia: commission 2% to 2.8%.
- Cost of selling a house in Tasmania: commission 2.5% to 3.25%.
- Cost of selling a house in the ACT: commission 1.8% to 2.25%.
- Cost of selling a house in the Northern Territory: commission 2.4% to 2.7%.
Sources and methodology
- Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic), sections 10G and 32 to 32P
- Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), sections 47A, 48A and 49A
- Consumer Affairs Victoria, Selling property
- Cotality Home Value Index, August 2026 results (capital city median dwelling values) · released 1 September 2026
- ATO, Foreign resident capital gains withholding: clearance certificates (15% withholding on every sale without one, from 1 January 2025)
- ATO, Capital gains tax: your main residence, and selling a rental property
- Commission ranges are Your Property Guide's compiled market figures (September 2026). Marketing, conveyancing, document, auctioneer and discharge figures are indicative ranges quoted individually by suppliers; no state publishes a survey, so treat them as a budget.
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Common questions
How much does it cost to sell a house in Victoria?
On an $800,000 sale, budget roughly $17,000 to $32,000 all-in: commission of $12,800 to $20,000 (1.6% to 2.5%, plus GST), marketing of $2,000 to $8,000, conveyancing of $800 to $2,500, Section 32 certificates of $300 to $800, and an auctioneer and mortgage discharge fee if they apply. Melbourne metro commission often sits under 2%.
Who pays for the Section 32 in Victoria?
The seller. The vendor statement is your obligation under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962, and the certificates it needs typically cost $300 to $800 plus your conveyancer's fee. The buyer pays for their own contract review and any building inspection.
Can a Victorian seller pass land tax on to the buyer?
Not for a sale under $10 million. Since 1 January 2024, section 10G of the Sale of Land Act makes such a clause of no effect. It only matters for investment properties; a principal place of residence is exempt from land tax anyway.
What is the average real estate commission in Victoria?
Typically 1.6% to 2.5%, with around 2% most common and Melbourne metro agents often lower. Commission is deregulated and negotiable, and the agent must tell you it is negotiable before you sign the authority. GST of 10% usually applies on top.
Do I have a cooling-off period on the sales authority in Victoria?
No. Victoria's three-business-day cooling-off period belongs to the buyer on the contract of sale, not to the seller on the agency authority. Once you sign a sole authority you are bound for its stated period, which by default ends 60 days after signing for a private sale or 30 days after an auction unless a longer period was agreed.
Keep reading
Real estate commission in Victoria
Typical Victoria rates, worked examples and how to negotiate.
ReadSelling costs calculator
Every line of the bill, with net proceeds after your loan.
ReadThe cost of selling a house in Australia
The national guide to each cost line.
ReadHow to negotiate agent commission
Tiered structures and the questions that move the rate.
ReadHow to choose a selling agent
Compare on results, not rate.
ReadAgency agreements by state
What the agreement must say and the clauses to change.
Read