COST OF SELLING · WA
What does it cost to sell a house in WA?
Selling a $1,087,507 home in Western Australia costs about $35,406 all up, and roughly 84% of that is agent commission. Here is every line, and what happens to the total when you remove the commission.
Estimate my WA selling costsNo sign-up. WA average commission: 2.75%.
Median house values: Cotality Hedonic Home Value Index, capital cities, April 2026. Typical commission rates: 2025-26 industry surveys. Method and full table: Unreserved Commission Report 2026.
About $35,406 to sell a $1,087,507 house in WA
Selling a house in Western Australia is cheaper than the east coast on almost every line except one. Settlement agents cost less than solicitors, marketing budgets are more modest, and there is no mandated vendor statement to assemble. Commission, at an average 2.75% and near 3.0% regionally, is the exception.
WA Cost of Selling Estimator
Commission in Western Australia is unregulated and negotiable, typically 2.0% to 3.0%. Enter the rate you have actually been quoted, or start from the WA 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 WA figure. Replace any of them with a quote you have actually been given.
Acts for you on the contract and settlement. Typically $900 to $1,600 in WA.
The certificates behind your vendor disclosure. Typically $100 to $300.
Your lender’s fee to release its mortgage, plus the registry fee. Typically $200 to $400.
Left at $0 by default. An WA auctioneer costs $500 to $900 on the day.
With a traditional agent
With Unreserved
WA COST BREAKDOWN
Every cost of selling a house in Western Australia
WA also has a rule that changes how much a pricing mistake costs: there is no cooling-off period. Here is the full WA cost list, and what the commission line looks like next to a flat fee.
Agent commission (2.75% WA average)
$29,906The big one, and the only optional line on this list. At the WA average of 2.75% on a $1,087,507 sale, this is about $29,906. Commission is unregulated in Western Australia, so the rate is set by the agency and is negotiable. It is also the one line you can drop by selling without an agent.
Marketing and advertising (VPA)
$2,000 to $5,500Photography, floorplan, portal listings, signboard and brochures. Payable whether or not the house sells, and usually invoiced before the campaign starts.
Your licensed settlement agent
$900 to $1,600Handles the contract, Contract & Joint Form of General Conditions, searches and settlement on your behalf.
Contract & Joint Form of General Conditions and searches
$100 to $300WA uses the standard Contract for Sale by Offer and Acceptance with the Joint Form of General Conditions. There is no single mandated vendor statement, but title, rates and strata records must be disclosed.
Mortgage discharge and registry
$200 to $400Your lender’s fee to release its mortgage over the title, plus the land registry fee. If you are breaking a fixed rate, ask for the break cost in writing separately.
Auctioneer (only if you auction)
$500 to $900The auctioneer’s fee on the day. Western Australia has no statutory cooling-off period for residential property. Once an offer is accepted and signed, the buyer is bound, so accurate pricing and a clean contract matter from the outset.
WA SPECIFIC
No cooling-off means pricing mistakes cost real money
Western Australia has no statutory cooling-off period for residential property. Once an offer is accepted and signed, the buyer is bound. That removes the fall-through risk other states carry, but it also means an under-priced offer accepted on day two is final. The cost of getting the price wrong in WA is not recoverable, which makes an accurate valuation the most valuable free thing a WA seller can do.
Settlement agents, not conveyancers
WA is the settlement-agent state. A licensed settlement agent handles the seller side for roughly $900 to $1,600, generally a little cheaper than an east-coast solicitor, and there is no single mandated vendor statement to assemble.
Thin regional agent supply keeps rates near 3%
Perth metro commission averages 2.75%, but regional WA has far fewer competing agencies and rates sit close to 3.0%. On a $560,000 regional median that is about $16,800, which is where a flat fee saves proportionally the most in this state.
Offer and Acceptance moves fast
WA runs on the Contract for Sale by Offer and Acceptance with the Joint Form of General Conditions. Offers can be signed and binding within days, so your disclosure of title, rates and strata records needs to be ready before you list, not after.
Do WA sellers pay stamp duty? No.
Stamp duty on a property transfer is a buyer cost in Western Australia, not a seller cost. The only tax that can land on a WA seller is capital gains tax, and that applies solely to investment properties, never to your main residence. Licensing and agent conduct in WA is governed by the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 (WA).
WA WORKED EXAMPLE
A $1,087,507 WA sale, two ways
WITH A TRADITIONAL AGENT
$35,406
Commission of $29,906 at 2.75%, plus marketing, licensed settlement agent fees, Contract & Joint Form of General Conditions searches and mortgage discharge. Commission alone is about 84% of it.
WITH UNRESERVED
$2,650
A flat $900 replaces the commission and the marketing spend. You still pay your licensed settlement agent, the Contract & Joint Form of General Conditions searches and mortgage discharge, because those are not agent fees.
DIFFERENCE
$32,756
Same house, same portals, same buyers. This is the part of your equity that stays with you rather than funding a percentage.
Based on the Perth median house value of $1,087,507 (the capital-city median, used as the WA figure) at the state average commission of 2.75%, with mid-range marketing, licensed settlement agent and search costs. Your actual figures depend on your sale price and the rate you would otherwise have negotiated.
ANCHOR THE NUMBER
Every figure here 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 WA home. Sixty seconds, no sign-up.
FAQ · COST OF SELLING IN WA
Cost of selling a house in Western Australia: common questions
How much does it cost to sell a house in WA?
On Perth’s ~$1,088,000 median house, expect about $29,900 in commission at the state average of 2.75%, $2,000 to $5,500 in vendor-paid marketing, $900 to $1,600 for a licensed settlement agent, $100 to $300 in searches and $200 to $400 for mortgage discharge. Total: roughly $33,100 to $37,700.
What does a settlement agent cost in WA?
A licensed WA settlement agent typically charges $900 to $1,600 to act for a seller, plus disbursements. WA does not mandate a single vendor statement the way Victoria (Section 32) or South Australia (Form 1) do, so the searches are lighter, usually $100 to $300.
Is there a cooling-off period when selling in WA?
No. Western Australia has no statutory cooling-off period for residential property. Once an offer is accepted and signed under the Offer and Acceptance contract, the buyer is bound. Accurate pricing matters more in WA than anywhere else, because an accepted low offer is final.
Do sellers pay stamp duty in Western Australia?
No. Transfer duty is a buyer cost in WA. Sellers pay commission, marketing, the settlement agent’s fee, searches and mortgage discharge. Capital gains tax applies only to investment properties.
How much commission do WA real estate agents charge?
Perth agents average about 2.75%, negotiated between 2.0% and 3.0%, and regional WA sits closer to 3.0% because there are fewer competing agencies. Commission is unregulated in WA and negotiable. Unreserved charges a flat $900.
84% of your selling costs are optional.
Same portals. Same buyers. None of the 2.75% commission. List your Western Australia home with Unreserved for a flat $900.
Selling in Western Australia
Costs, savings and the steps to sell it yourself.
Selling costs in another state?
Fees, forms and rules change at every border.
Ready to sell your own home without an agent? Sell it yourself from $900, or have our licensed team run the whole campaign for $6,900. No commission, no lock-in.