REAL ESTATE AGENT COMMISSION CALCULATOR
Two minutes. One slider. The exact commission cheque a traditional agent would write themselves on your sale and what Unreserved costs instead.
Calculate my savingsNo sign-up. Live numbers. Save up to $35,000+.
Real estate commission calculator by state
Commission rates vary by state. Open your state for local rates, medians, vendor-disclosure rules and a tailored calculation.
Your sale, with and without the commission
Slide your sale price. Pick your state. We’ll show you the cheque a traditional agent walks away with and the flat fee you’d pay Unreserved instead.
Agent Cost Estimator
Many agents charge additional marketing costs for photography, listings, and advertising.
Compare with Unreserved
Free Property Valuation
Find out what your
house is worth
Get an instant AI-powered estimate in under 60 seconds. No obligations, no sign-up required.
Get Your Free ValuationUnreserved vs a traditional agent
See exactly what you get with each Unreserved plan compared to a traditional commission-based agent.
Average agent commission by major agency
Real estate commissions in Australia aren’t regulated. Every agent and every brand sets their own rates. Even within one agency, fees vary by suburb, listing strategy, and how confident the seller is to negotiate.
In capital cities, most sellers can expect to pay between 2% and 3.5% of the sale price. On a $1M home, that’s a $20,000–$35,000 cheque written out of settlement before you see a dollar.
Rates are negotiable, but most homeowners don’t realise that, or feel uncomfortable pushing back during a high-stress sale.
Commission rates are negotiable and can vary depending on your suburb, property value, and the marketing package offered.
Average agent commission across Australia
Commission rates aren’t uniform. They shift dramatically based on where your property sits. Tasmania averages around 3.0%, while Victoria and New South Wales sit closer to 2.0%–2.1%.
That means two identical homes, one in Hobart and one in Melbourne, can end up paying tens of thousands of dollars more or less in commission, just because of the postcode.
With Unreserved’s fixed fee, your location doesn’t change what you pay. The same flat fee applies whether you’re selling in Sydney’s eastern suburbs or a regional town in Tasmania, with no postcode penalty.
How commission costs have grown
Since 1990, the average commission paid on an Australian home sale has climbed roughly fivefold, from around $4,000 to nearly $20,000 today. Even though percentage rates have edged lower, surging property values mean sellers are handing over far more in real dollars than ever before.
Why commissions vary so much
No two sellers in Australia pay the same commission. The headline rate is only part of the story; what you actually pay depends on a stack of factors most people never see.
Location & state
Commission rates differ from state to state, and even from suburb to suburb. Smaller markets and regional areas typically attract higher percentages than major metro postcodes.
Property value
Higher-priced homes usually negotiate lower percentages, because the dollar return for the agent is already strong. Lower-priced homes often attract higher rates to offset the same amount of work.
Agent negotiation
Commissions in Australia are not regulated. Every agent is free to set their own rate, and most are open to negotiation, but only if the seller knows to ask.
Market conditions
In a hot market with strong buyer demand, agents often accept lower commissions because homes sell quickly. In slower markets, rates tend to creep up to cover longer campaigns.
What real estate agent commission costs across Australia
There is no national commission rate in Australia. Commission is unregulated in every state and territory, so each agent sets their own fee and every rate below is negotiable. What the market settles on still varies by thousands of dollars depending on where you sell.
The table applies each state’s average rate to that state’s median house price. It is the same calculation the estimator above runs, done once for every state so you can see the spread. Because each row uses a different median, compare the rates rather than the dollar totals: TAS averages 3.0% against VIC’s 2.0%, so on an identical $1,000,000 sale that is $10,000 more commission for the same job.
| State | Average rate | Typical range | Median house | Agent commission | You keep with Unreserved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 2.1% | 1.8%–2.5% | $1,200,000 | $25,200 | $24,300 |
| VIC | 2.0% | 1.6%–2.5% | $940,000 | $18,800 | $17,900 |
| QLD | 2.5% | 2.5%–3.0% | $770,000 | $19,250 | $18,350 |
| WA | 2.5% | 2.0%–3.0% | $700,000 | $17,500 | $16,600 |
| SA | 2.5% | 2.0%–2.75% | $720,000 | $18,000 | $17,100 |
| TAS | 3.0% | 2.5%–3.5% | $620,000 | $18,600 | $17,700 |
| ACT | 2.3% | 2.0%–2.75% | $1,050,000 | $24,150 | $23,250 |
| NT | 2.7% | 2.5%–3.0% | $560,000 | $15,120 | $14,220 |
Two things drive that spread. Competition, because dense capital-city markets push rates down while thinner regional markets hold them up. And median price, because a percentage of a bigger number is a bigger cheque even when the rate looks low.
A flat fee removes both variables. The $900 is the same in Hobart and in Sydney, and it does not move when your sale price does. Pick your state above for the local rules, the disclosure documents you need, and a calculator set to that state’s average.
Real estate commission in Australia: common questions
Australian agents typically charge between 1.8% and 3.5% of the sale price, averaging around 2.0% to 2.5% in the capital cities. Commission is not regulated anywhere in Australia, so the rate is set by each agent and is negotiable. On a $1,000,000 sale a 2.5% commission is $25,000 before marketing costs. Unreserved charges a flat $900 instead.
Multiply the sale price by the commission rate, then divide by 100. On a $900,000 sale at 2.5%, that is 900,000 x 2.5 / 100 = $22,500. Marketing is charged separately and usually runs $3,000 to $8,000. Some agents also use a tiered structure, charging a higher percentage above a threshold price, so check whether the rate you were quoted applies to the whole sale price or only part of it.
Around 2.0% to 2.5% nationally, though it ranges from about 1.8% in the most competitive Sydney and Melbourne markets to 3.0% or more in Tasmania and thinner regional markets. The table above shows the average for each state applied to that state’s median house price.
Yes. No Australian state or territory regulates commission rates, so every rate is negotiable. Most sellers do not negotiate, either because they do not know they can or because it is an awkward conversation to have with someone they are about to trust with their largest asset. A flat fee removes the negotiation entirely.
Usually no. Most agency agreements make commission payable only on an unconditional sale. Marketing costs are different: those are typically payable whether the property sells or not, and can run to several thousand dollars on a withdrawn campaign. Read the marketing schedule in your agency agreement before you sign it.
Yes. It is legal to sell your own home in every Australian state and territory, and private sellers pay no commission. The practical obstacle is reach, because realestate.com.au and Domain do not accept listings directly from private sellers. Unreserved lists your property on both portals and handles the contract and enquiry management for a flat $900.
List with Unreserved from $900.
Same portals. Same campaign. Same outcome. None of the commission. Get a free valuation and see what your sale could look like.