What to know before selling your house without losing thousands.

Selling your house is the largest transaction most Australians ever make, and the people who advise you on it usually earn a percentage of the result. That shapes the advice you get. Before you sign anything or book a photographer, walk through the numbers, the timing, the legal steps, and the choices that decide how much of your sale price you actually keep.

This guide covers all of it in plain English, for sellers anywhere in Australia.

1. The true cost of selling a house

Most sellers spend between 2% and 4% of the sale price to sell, once every cost is added up. On a $900,000 home, that is $18,000 to $36,000 gone before you count removalists. Here is where the money goes.

Cost	Typical amount on a $900k sale
Agent commission (2–2.5%)	$18,000–$22,500
Conveyancer / solicitor	$800–$2,500
Marketing & photography	A few hundred to $6,000
Styling / staging	$2,000–$8,000
Building & pest (optional)	$400–$700
Unreserved flat fee	From $900

Commission is the biggest line by far. Australian agents charge 1.8% to 3.5%, averaging around 2% to 2.5%, and it comes out at settlement, which is why sellers rarely feel it leave their account. A flat-fee platform charges one set price instead. Want the state-by-state breakdown? See our guide to real estate agent commission in Australia.

A flat fee replaces a percentage. On a $900,000 sale, that difference is more than $17,000 back in your pocket.

Run your numbers in the commission savings calculator →

Do you need a solicitor to sell a house?

No law forces you to hire one. You do need a licensed conveyancer or solicitor to prepare the contract of sale and manage settlement, and most sellers use one. Budget $800 to $2,500 depending on your state and how complex the sale is. This is not the place to save money. A missed disclosure can collapse a contract weeks after you accept an offer.

Marketing runs from a few hundred dollars for a basic portal listing to several thousand for a full campaign. Styling costs $2,000 to $8,000. Building and pest reports, if you order them upfront to reassure buyers, add $400 to $700. We break these down in the cost of preparing a home for sale.

2. When is the right time to sell?

The honest answer: when your home is ready and buyers have money to spend. Timing the market to the month rarely beats presenting well.

That said, the seasons matter. Spring, from September to November, draws the most buyers and the most listings across Australia. Autumn, March to May, runs a close second. Winter brings fewer buyers, but also fewer competing homes, which can work in your favour in a tight market.

How long does the whole process take? Plan for four to six weeks to prepare the home, three to four weeks of active campaign, then four to six weeks from an accepted offer to settlement. Ten to sixteen weeks from decision to keys is normal.

3. Preparing your home for sale

Buyers form a view in the first thirty seconds. Your job is to spend where they look and skip what they never notice.

What earns its money: a deep clean, decluttering every room, fresh neutral paint in tired spaces, tidy gardens, and lights and taps that work. What usually does not: a brand-new kitchen weeks before you list, elaborate landscaping, or structural changes you will never recoup at sale.

Overcapitalising is one of the most expensive mistakes a seller can make. Presenting a home well and renovating it are different projects. The first sells houses. The second is a bet you place months or years ahead of time.

4. Choosing how to sell

There are two decisions here: the sale method, and who runs it.

Private sale, auction, or expressions of interest?

• Private sale (private treaty): you set an asking price and negotiate directly with buyers. The most common method in Australia, lower pressure, and it works in most markets.
• Auction: a public sale on a fixed date. It suits high-demand suburbs and homes that are hard to compare, and comes with auctioneer and marketing costs and no guarantee of a result on the day.
• Expressions of interest: buyers submit their best offer by a deadline. Useful when a property is genuinely hard to price.

Agent, selling privately, or a flat-fee platform?

• Full-service agent. Hands off, and you pay 2% or more in commission for it.
• Selling privately with no help. The cheapest route on paper, but you cannot list on realestate.com.au or Domain without a licensed agency.
• Flat-fee platform. You stay in control and keep the commission, while a licensed platform puts you on the major portals. Unreserved handles the listing, buyer enquiries, and campaign for one fee, and uses AI for the valuation and buyer matching an agent would charge for. See how private home sales work.

If commission is your main frustration, read the best way to sell a house without an agent in Australia for a deeper comparison.

5. Legal and compliance must-knows

Vendor disclosure is where sellers get caught. Every state and territory requires you to disclose set information before or at the point of sale, and the rules differ by state:

• Victoria: a Section 32 vendor statement, prepared before you market the home.
• NSW: a contract with prescribed documents attached before the property can be advertised.
• Queensland: seller disclosure obligations tightened under 2025 reforms, with a standard disclosure statement now required.
• Other states and territories: their own forms and timing rules apply.

Get your disclosure documents from a conveyancer early, not the week you list. Our guide to contracts of sale and vendor statements walks through what goes in.

The contract of sale sets the price, deposit, settlement date, and any conditions such as finance or a building inspection. Settlement is the day the title and the money change hands, usually four to six weeks after the contract goes unconditional.

6. Common mistakes that cost sellers money

Overpricing and sitting on the market. A high asking price feels safe, but a home that lingers grows stale, and buyers start asking what is wrong with it. Price to the evidence of recent comparable sales, not to hope.

Accepting the first offer too fast. An early offer can be a strong one, or a buyer testing whether you know your home’s worth. Know your number before offers arrive so you can judge one on the spot.

Not reading the agent’s contract. Sole agency periods, advertising you pay for whether or not the home sells, and commission rates you assumed were fixed. Commission is negotiable far more often than sellers realise, and the contract is where those terms live.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a solicitor to sell my house?

No law requires it, but you need a licensed conveyancer or solicitor to prepare the contract of sale and handle settlement. Almost all sellers use one. Costs run $800 to $2,500 depending on your state.

How much does it cost to sell a house in Australia?

Most sellers spend 2% to 4% of the sale price. On a $900,000 home that is $18,000 to $36,000, with agent commission the largest part. A flat fee replaces the commission percentage with one set price.

Can I sell my house without an agent?

Yes. Selling privately is legal in every Australian state and territory. The catch is that realestate.com.au and Domain only accept listings from a licensed agency, so most private sellers use a licensed flat-fee platform to reach those portals while keeping control of the sale.

How long does it take to sell a house?

Plan for ten to sixteen weeks from decision to settlement: four to six weeks to prepare, three to four weeks of campaign, and four to six weeks from accepted offer to settlement.