COST OF SELLING · AUSTRALIA
What does it cost to sell a house?
Between 2% and 4% of your sale price, and about 80% of that is one line item. Here is every cost of selling a house in Australia, broken down state by state, with the commission maths done for you.
Estimate my selling costsNo sign-up. Commission ranges from 2.0% (VIC) to 3.0% (TAS).
2% to 4% of your sale price, and most of it is commission
Selling a house in Australia costs between 2% and 4% of the sale price once every fee is counted. On a $1.2M sale that is $24,000 to $48,000. Agent commission is 75% to 85% of that total, and it is the only line on the list that is genuinely optional. Everything else, the conveyancing, the disclosure documents, the mortgage discharge, you pay either way, and together they rarely clear $4,000.
Cost of Selling Estimator
Commission in Australia is unregulated and negotiable, typically 1.6%–3.0%. Enter the rate you have actually been quoted, or start from the national average.
Charged on top of commission, and payable whether or not the house sells.
Your other selling costs
You pay these whichever way you sell, so they sit in both totals and cancel out of the difference. Each is pre-filled with a typical national figure. Replace any of them with a quote you have actually been given.
Acts for you on the contract and settlement. Typically $900 – $2,200, cheapest in WA (settlement agents) and dearest in the ACT.
Section 32, Form 1, Form 2 or the NSW disclosure certificates, depending on your state. $100 – $1,500, and highest in the ACT.
Your lender’s fee to release its mortgage, plus the registry fee. Typically $200 – $400.
Left at $0 by default. An auctioneer costs $400 – $1,000 on the day.
With a traditional agent
With Unreserved
STATE BY STATE
Cost of selling a house in every Australian state
Each figure below is calculated on that state’s median house price at its average commission rate, with mid-range marketing, legal and search costs. Tap a state for the full breakdown, its vendor disclosure rules and its own estimator.
| State | Avg commission | Median house | Commission $ | Total with agent | Total with Unreserved | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 2.1% | $1,200,000 | $25,200 | $33,500 | $3,200 | $30,300 |
| VIC | 2.0% | $940,000 | $18,800 | $26,275 | $2,875 | $23,400 |
| QLD | 2.5% | $770,000 | $19,250 | $25,650 | $2,800 | $22,850 |
| WA | 2.5% | $700,000 | $17,500 | $23,000 | $2,650 | $20,350 |
| SA | 2.5% | $720,000 | $18,000 | $23,650 | $2,800 | $20,850 |
| TAS | 3.0% | $620,000 | $18,600 | $23,750 | $2,900 | $20,850 |
| ACT | 2.3% | $1,050,000 | $24,150 | $31,525 | $4,025 | $27,500 |
| NT | 2.7% | $560,000 | $15,120 | $21,070 | $3,100 | $17,970 |
“Total with agent” = commission at the state average, plus mid-range vendor-paid marketing, conveyancing, disclosure searches and mortgage discharge. “Total with Unreserved” replaces commission and marketing with a flat $900 and keeps the costs you pay either way. Figures are indicative and move with the market.
FULL COST BREAKDOWN
Every cost of selling a house, explained
Eight lines, in the order they hit your account. Only the first one is negotiable to zero, and it is also the largest by a wide margin.
Agent commission
1.6% – 3.0% of sale priceThe largest cost of selling a house in Australia by an order of magnitude, and the only one that is genuinely optional. Commission is unregulated in every state and territory, so the rate is set by the agency and negotiable. On a $1.2M sale, the spread between 1.6% and 3.0% is $19,200 to $36,000 for identical work.
Marketing and advertising (VPA)
$1,800 – $9,000+Vendor-paid advertising covers photography, floorplans, portal listings, signboard and brochures. You pay it whether or not the house sells, it is usually invoiced up front, and it is separate from commission. Sydney and Melbourne campaigns sit at the top of the range; regional Tasmania and the NT at the bottom.
Conveyancing or legal fees
$900 – $2,200Your conveyancer or solicitor handles the contract, the disclosure statement, searches and settlement. WA uses licensed settlement agents, which is generally the cheapest. The ACT is the most expensive, because Crown leasehold title needs extra checks.
Vendor disclosure documents
$100 – $1,500Every state mandates something different, and the cost gap is wide. Victoria needs a Section 32, South Australia a Form 1, Queensland a Form 2 (new since August 2025), NSW a disclosure contract with prescribed certificates. The ACT is the outlier: sellers must buy building, pest and energy-efficiency reports, which everywhere else the buyer pays for.
Mortgage discharge and bank fees
$200 – $400Your lender charges a discharge fee to release its mortgage over the title, plus a land registry fee. If you are on a fixed rate and breaking it early, ask your lender for a break-cost figure in writing, because that can dwarf the discharge fee.
Styling, staging and repairs
$0 – $8,000 (optional)Genuinely optional, and the only line on this list that can increase your sale price rather than just reduce your net. Presentation spend has a real return; the mistake is treating a full styling package as compulsory because an agent recommended it.
Auction and campaign extras
$400 – $1,000 (if you auction)The auctioneer’s fee on the day, plus any board, brochure or open-home costs bundled into an auction campaign. Auction campaigns cost more to run than private treaty, which is one reason they get recommended so often.
Capital gains tax
Investment properties onlyIf the property was your main residence for the whole time you owned it, you almost certainly pay no CGT. If it was an investment, CGT applies to the gain, with a 50% discount where you held it longer than 12 months. Talk to your accountant, not your agent.
WHY YOUR STATE CHANGES THE NUMBER
Same house, different state, thousands apart
Commission rates vary by almost double
Victoria averages 2.0%, the lowest in the country. Tasmania averages 3.0%, the highest. On an identical $800,000 sale that gap alone is about $8,000, for the same work, because commission is unregulated everywhere in Australia.
Vendor disclosure costs are wildly uneven
Victoria needs a Section 32, South Australia a Form 1, Queensland a Form 2 since August 2025. The ACT goes furthest: sellers there must buy building, pest and energy-efficiency reports before advertising, roughly $700 to $1,500 that buyers fund in every other state.
Cooling-off rules change your risk, not just your cost
Western Australia has no cooling-off period at all, so a signed offer binds immediately. South Australia’s clock only starts once the Form 1 is served. Neither shows up as a line on an invoice, and both can cost you far more than a fee if handled badly.
THE ONE LINE THAT MOVES
What happens when you take the commission out
Every other cost on this page is small, fixed and unavoidable. Your conveyancer still needs paying. The disclosure searches still cost what they cost. The bank still charges to discharge its mortgage. Together they rarely clear $4,000 in any state.
Commission is different. It is a percentage of your equity, it is unregulated, it scales with a number you worked years to build, and it buys a service that is now largely software: listing on the portals, fielding enquiries, scheduling inspections, handling offers. Unreserved does that work for a flat $900. Your home goes on realestate.com.au and Domain, which do not accept private listings directly, and you keep the difference.
ANCHOR THE NUMBER
Every cost on this page starts with your sale price
A cost estimate is only as good as the price you put into it. Get a free AI valuation backed by comparable sales within 2km of your home. Sixty seconds, no sign-up, and no agent will call you.
FAQ · COST OF SELLING
Cost of selling a house in Australia: common questions
Budget 2% to 4% of your sale price all in. On a $1.2M sale that is roughly $24,000 to $48,000. Agent commission is the dominant line at 1.6% to 3.0% depending on the state, followed by vendor-paid marketing of $1,800 to $9,000, conveyancing of $900 to $2,200, vendor disclosure documents of $100 to $1,500 and mortgage discharge of $200 to $400. Commission alone is typically 75% to 85% of the total.
Australian agents charge a commission of 1.6% to 3.0% of the sale price, plus a separate vendor-paid advertising budget. Victoria averages the lowest at 2.0% and Tasmania the highest at 3.0%. Commission is unregulated in every state and territory, so every rate is negotiable and no two agencies quote the same.
By commission rate, Tasmania at 3.0%. By dollar cost, New South Wales, because Sydney’s median means even a 2.1% rate produces the largest commission in the country. The ACT is the most expensive on non-commission costs, because ACT sellers must buy building, pest and energy-efficiency reports that buyers pay for everywhere else.
No. Stamp duty, transfer duty or conveyance duty is paid by the buyer in every Australian state and territory. The only tax that can land on a seller is capital gains tax, and that applies solely to investment properties, not to your main residence.
Because commission is 75% to 85% of the cost of selling, it is the only line where a change moves the total. Unreserved replaces it with a flat $900: your home is listed on realestate.com.au and Domain, which do not accept private listings directly, with the vendor disclosure documents, buyer enquiry handling and campaign management included.
Yes, everywhere in Australia. There is no statutory cap or set rate in any state or territory. Queensland is the clearest example: commission was capped by law until 2014, and rates rose after the cap was removed. A flat fee removes the negotiation entirely, because the number does not move with your sale price.
80% of your selling costs are optional.
Same portals. Same buyers. No commission. List your home with Unreserved for a flat $900 and keep the rest.