Flat fee real estate agents in Australia: what they cost.

I charged commission for fifteen years. On a $1,200,000 home at 2.1%, that is $25,200 for one sale, and the seller never got a line item explaining what the number bought. A flat fee works the other way round. You agree a dollar figure before the campaign starts, and it does not move when the price does. The catch is that “flat fee” now describes very different products, from a $500 portal listing to a $10,000 agency service. This guide sorts them out.

Definitions

Flat fee, zero commission, FSBO and hybrid, defined.

Commission agent: Charges a percentage of the sale price, typically 1.8% to 3.5%, plus marketing costs.

Flat-fee (fixed-fee) agent: Charges a set dollar amount to sell your home, whatever the sale price.

Zero-commission: No percentage of the sale price is charged. A fixed fee may still apply.

For sale by owner (FSBO): The owner runs the sale, usually through a listing service (some of which hold an agency licence).

Hybrid: Platform tools combined with licensed professional support.

Unreserved is a licensed agency with a hybrid, fixed-fee model: zero commission, with plans from $0 to $6,900.

01 · How it works

A percentage grows with the price. A flat fee does not.

A commission agent’s fee is the sale price multiplied by a rate. Rates in Australia run from about 1.8% to 3.5%, they are negotiated listing by listing, and marketing is usually billed on top and paid whether or not the home sells. The fee is only known once the home sells.

A flat-fee agent or platform quotes a dollar figure up front. Some take it when you list, some at settlement, and some split it. What you get for it varies far more than with commission, which is why the first question is never “how much?” but “who does what?”.

The usual objection is incentive: an agent on a fixed fee has less reason to push for a higher price. It is a fair point, and it cuts both ways. At 2.1%, a commission agent earns about $210 for every extra $10,000 they win you. You keep $9,790 of it. The person with the strongest reason to hold out for a better price was always the owner.

What actually moves the price is the same under either model: pricing the home correctly from day one, getting it in front of every active buyer, answering enquiries fast, and handling offers without panic. When you compare flat-fee options, compare who does each of those jobs.

02 · The market

What flat-fee options charge in Australia.

I checked the published prices of several Australian providers on 22 September 2026. They fall into two groups. Listing-only platforms put your home on the portals and give you tools, and you run the sale yourself. Fixed-fee agencies assign an agent to run it for you, for a much larger fixed fee.

Where I could not find a published price, I have left it out rather than guess. Most fixed-fee agencies quote privately, so the general range below comes from a published industry explainer, not from agency price lists.

What is usually in the fee

Most flat-fee products include a listing on realestate.com.au and Domain, a For Sale sign, and some way to manage buyer enquiries. The cheapest tiers are the exception: several list on Domain only, which matters because a large share of buyers search realestate.com.au first. LocalAgentFinder says fixed-fee agency packages generally cover the appraisal, advertising, signboards and floor plans.

What usually costs extra

Professional photography is the most common add-on. PropertyNow lists it at $370 and Sale By Home Owner at $495. Floor plans, copywriting, video, paid social ads and printed brochures are usually extras too. For agency packages, LocalAgentFinder lists open-home management, auction costs and premium marketing as typical extras. OpenAgent and Canstar both make the same point: read the terms, and find out what happens if the home does not sell.

Six questions to ask any flat-fee provider

• Is the fee paid up front, at settlement, or split? Is any of it refunded if the home does not sell?
• Which portals, and does that include realestate.com.au?
• Who answers buyer enquiries, and how fast?
• Who opens the home for inspections?
• Who negotiates with buyers, and are they licensed?
• Is there a lock-in period, and what does it cost to leave?

03 · Our plans

Where Unreserved fits.

Unreserved has four plans. None charges commission and none has a lock-in contract. Three are self-managed with our software and support. The fourth, Plus, puts a dedicated campaign manager on your sale.

To be straight about it: Plus is priced like a fixed-fee agency, and unlike some agency packages it does not bundle photography. You add that separately. What Plus does include is a person who runs your campaign and negotiates your offers, with no commission and no lock-in. If you would rather run the sale yourself, Lite gives you the same portals for $900.

Run your own price through the savings calculator to see the gap on your home, or read the full cost picture in what it costs to sell a house.

04 · The honest part

Who a flat fee suits, and who it does not.

A flat fee is not right for everyone. The saving is large, but it assumes you, or someone you pay, does the work a commission agent would have done.

The real risk is not the fee. It is the price. A $900 flat fee only costs you more than commission if the home sells for at least $24,300 less than an agent would have got, which on a $1,200,000 home is about 2% of the price. That is possible if the home is priced badly or enquiries go unanswered. It is not something a percentage fee prevents on its own.

So start with the price. If you get that right, most of the flat-fee risk goes with it.

05 · By state

What commission costs where you live.

Rates and prices differ by state, so the gap a flat fee closes differs too. The table uses capital-city median house values and typical commission rates from our Commission Report 2026. The last column is the commission on the median minus the $900 Lite fee.