Seller’s Desk · By Address District · · 7 min read
How Much Does It Cost to Sell a House? Counting the 2.43 Percent Buyer’s-Agent Commission, the State Deed Tax and the Carrying Months
Buyers’ agents averaged 2.43 percent in the second quarter of 2025, and the deed tax on a $500,000 sale runs from $550 at California’s county rate to $5,000 at Pennsylvania’s state rate before local add-ons. On a hypothetical $420,000 listing, commission, credits, preparation and four carrying months take $42,900.
- Commissions
- Transfer taxes
- Carrying costs
- Repair credits
- Capital gains
- Net proceeds
Table of contents
- Key findings
- What are buyers’ agents being paid now?
- How much does the deed tax change from one state to the next?
- When does tax on the gain apply, and what about a loss?
- How much do the carrying months add?
- What does a private sale change on the seller’s ledger?
- Methodology and limitations
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources
The price on a listing agreement is where the arithmetic starts. Commission, a deed tax, title charges, inspection credits and the months of mortgage interest and utilities while the house waits all come off the top, and most never appear on the listing sheet.
This brief counts those lines. It uses Redfin’s August 2025 commission figures, deed tax schedules from four states set beside the number of Older Home Index neighborhoods in each, and two IRS pages on gain and loss, then builds a hypothetical net sheet and asks what a private sale changes.
Geography sets most of the limits. Deed taxes and who pays them vary by state and county, and only four states are shown. The net sheet runs on assumed figures and is neither a quote nor a valuation.
Key findings
- Redfin’s average buyer’s agent commission was 2.43 percent in the second quarter of 2025, and 2.52 percent on homes under $500,000 (Redfin, August 2025).
- Florida taxes deeds at 70 cents per $100 of consideration, or 60 cents for a single-family home in Miami-Dade County (Florida Department of Revenue).
- Pennsylvania’s realty transfer tax is 1 percent of value at the state level (Pennsylvania Department of Revenue).
- A qualifying owner can exclude $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for joint filers, after two years of ownership and use within five (IRS, September 2026), but a loss on a home is not deductible (IRS, April 2026).
What are buyers’ agents being paid now?
Close to what they were paid before the rules changed. Redfin’s national average was 2.43 percent in April through June 2025, up from 2.38 percent a year earlier. The rate falls as price rises.
Average buyer’s agent commission by price, second quarter of 2025
Arithmetic on those averages puts the buyer’s side alone at $10,080 on a $400,000 sale and $17,550 on $750,000. The listing agent’s pay is separate, and Redfin’s figures do not cover it. Since August 17, 2024, a buyer’s agent’s pay has been set out in a signed agreement before touring, though the association says buyers can still ask the seller to contribute. Our commission report follows the change.
Source Redfin, August 12, 2025, from Redfin and partner transactions. NAR consumer guide to written buyer agreements, September 6, 2024.
How much does the deed tax change from one state to the next?
Several times over. Table 1 applies four published schedules to the same hypothetical $500,000 sale.
| State | Index neighborhoods | Published rate | Tax on $500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 202 | 70 cents per $100 | $3,500 |
| California | 177 | County, 55 cents per $500 | $550 |
| Pennsylvania | 20 | State, 1 percent | $5,000 |
| Connecticut | 18 | State, 0.75 percent up to $800,000 | $3,750 |
Table 1. Deed or transfer tax on a hypothetical $500,000 sale, local add-ons excluded. Sources, state revenue departments, California Department of Real Estate and Address District Older Home Index, 2026.
The spread is wide. California’s county rate yields $550, while Pennsylvania’s state share alone is $5,000, about nine times as much, before any local tax. A single-family home in Miami-Dade pays 60 cents per $100, or $3,000, and where a California city has its own transfer tax, half of the $550 goes to the city rather than on top, though some charter cities levy more. Connecticut’s rate climbs to 1.25 percent above $800,000, and towns add their own, 0.25 percent in Westport.
Who pays turns on the state and the contract, with Florida making the tax payable by any party and Pennsylvania holding seller and buyer jointly liable.
Source Florida Department of Revenue guide GT-800014. Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, rates effective July 1, 2020, and Town of Westport land records. California Department of Real Estate, reference book chapter 16. Rates applied to a hypothetical price.
When does tax on the gain apply, and what about a loss?
An owner who both owned the home and used it as a main residence for 24 of the 60 months before the sale may shield as much as $250,000 of gain from federal income tax, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly. As arithmetic, a qualifying single owner with a $310,000 gain excludes $250,000 and reports $60,000, while a married couple filing jointly with the same gain owes federal tax on none of it.
Losses run one way. The IRS says losses on personal-use property, a home among them, are not deductible and do not count toward the $3,000 annual capital loss deduction.
Source IRS sale-of-home topic page, September 24, 2026, and IRS newsroom page on home-sale losses, April 28, 2026. Federal income tax only, and state taxes differ.
How much do the carrying months add?
Take a hypothetical house that lists and sells for $420,000 after four months, with an assumed 5 percent total commission, $8,000 of repair credits, $3,500 of preparation and $2,600 a month in mortgage interest, taxes, insurance and utilities. As arithmetic, those lines total $42,900 and leave $377,100 before deed tax, title fees and the payoff.
| Line | Sold in four months | Sold in two months | Bid up to $440,000 | Private break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $420,000 | $420,000 | $440,000 | $379,700 |
| Commission at 5% | $21,000 | $21,000 | $22,000 | $0 |
| Repairs and preparation | $11,500 | $11,500 | $11,500 | $0 |
| Carrying costs | $10,400 | $5,200 | $10,400 | $2,600 |
| Net before deed tax, title and payoff | $377,100 | $382,300 | $396,100 | $377,100 |
Table 2. A hypothetical net sheet on assumed figures. The private column is the break-even price, not an offer, assuming a closing the owner sets one month out.
The break-even, $379,700, is 90.4 percent of the listed price. A two-month sale lifts it to $384,900, and competing bids up to $440,000 lift it to $398,700, while each extra listed month lowers it by $2,600. Deed tax tracks the price on both routes, so at Pennsylvania’s 1 percent the $40,300 gap between the first and last prices is worth $403.
Source Arithmetic on hypothetical figures. The 5 percent commission and $2,600 monthly carrying cost are assumptions, not typical rates.
What does a private sale change on the seller’s ledger?
Several lines fall away and one becomes the owner’s choice. Address District buys from owners directly and takes no commission. The house is never listed or shown, no open house is held, and no money goes to repairs, staging or deep cleaning. Someone on the team reviews the property, may ask to come by, then puts in writing an offer the owner need not take. The owner fixes the closing date, anywhere from weeks to months ahead, which sets the carrying line, and receives the buyer’s name in writing.
The deed tax, title and settlement charges, the payoff and any tax on the gain remain. A private sale does not remove closing costs or promise a price, and a listing can draw competing bids, as the third column of Table 2 shows. Comparing the two on net, line by line, is how an owner chooses.
Source Address District terms of sale. Net sheet figures are hypothetical.
Methodology and limitations
Commission figures are Redfin’s national averages for buyers’ agents, drawn from its own and partner transactions, and do not describe listing agents. Deed tax rates come from four state sources and ignore local add-ons, exemptions and credits. Index counts show where the index’s neighborhoods lie, not where homes sell. Tax rules cover federal income tax only. Table 2 and every dollar example are arithmetic on assumed figures, and nothing here forecasts a price or values a house.
Conclusion
The record supports a plain accounting. Buyers’ agents averaged 2.43 percent in the latest Redfin quarter. The deed tax on one price differs about ninefold across the four states shown, the federal exclusion shelters gain up to its limits, and a loss earns no deduction. Carrying months and credits move the total most.
It cannot say which route nets more for one house, because a month on the market or a competing bid moves the break-even by thousands. A listing offers the chance of a contest, and a private sale removes commission and preparation and leaves the date to the owner, who weighs them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are typical seller closing costs?
They vary too much by state for one figure. On a $500,000 sale, the deed tax alone ran from $550 to $5,000 in the four states shown.
Do I have to pay the buyer’s agent?
Not by default. That pay is set in the buyer’s own agreement, though a buyer may ask you to contribute in an offer.
Is a private sale always cheaper?
It removes commission, preparation and repair credits, but deed tax, title charges and the payoff remain. Whether it nets more depends on the price.
Do I owe tax on the gain?
Only on gain above the federal exclusion if you qualify, or on all of it if you do not. A loss on a home is not deductible.
Sources
- BusinessWire, Redfin, Aug. 12, 2025. Buyer’s agent commissions tick up to pre-NAR settlement levels. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250812345440/en/Buyers-Agent-Commissions-Tick-Up-to-Pre-NAR-Settlement-Levels
- National Association of Realtors, Sept. 6, 2024. Consumer guide to written buyer agreements. https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-to-written-buyer-agreements
- Florida Department of Revenue, Dec. 2017. Documentary stamp tax, GT-800014. https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/gt800014.pdf
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Oct. 2026. Realty transfer tax. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/realty-transfer-tax
- Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, 2019. Real estate conveyance tax change. https://portal.ct.gov/DRS/Legislative-Summaries/2019-Legislative-Updates/Real-Estate-Conveyance-Tax-Change
- Town of Westport, Oct. 2026. Land records, Town Clerk. https://www.westportct.gov/government/departments-a-z/town-clerk-s-office/land-records
- California Department of Real Estate, Oct. 2026. Reference book, taxation and assessments. https://www.dre.ca.gov/files/pdf/refbook/ref16.pdf
- IRS, Sept. 24, 2026. Topic 701, sale of your home. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc701
- IRS, April 28, 2026. What if I sell my home for a loss?. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/what-if-i-sell-my-home-for-a-loss
- Address District, October 2026. The Older Home Index. /older-home-index.html
- Address District, October 2026. Commissions after the settlement. /stories/commissions-after-settlement.html
Figures retrieved October 5, 2026. This brief is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Photographs are illustrative.
