Perhaps you bought your house years ago, and after a long, stressful purchase process, thousands spent on maintenance, and painstaking dedication to making it feel like home, you now want to reap the full benefits at selling time. You may be wondering, “How much money do I keep after selling a house?”
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Many homeowners picture a hefty payout, only to realize later that they’ve overestimated their home’s value or underestimated the costs of selling. We’ll walk through all the numbers so you have a clearer idea of how much money you’ll actually pocket once the sale is complete.
Why the sale price isn’t your take-home pay
Selling your home for a certain price doesn’t mean that exact amount lands in your bank account. Before you can pocket the money, several expenses come off the top, including agent commissions, closing costs, and any remaining mortgage balance. The amount left after these deductions is called your net proceeds, or what you actually walk away with at closing.
That’s different from your profit. Profit looks at the bigger picture by taking your net proceeds and comparing them to what you’ve invested in the home over the years, including your original purchase price and the cost of major improvements.
Understanding that the sale price isn’t your take-home pay can help you set realistic expectations, make smarter plans for your next move, and avoid counting on money that may never materialize.
How much is your home worth?
One of the first things you’ll want to do to calculate how much money you keep after selling a house is to get a ballpark idea of your home’s market value or what it can sell for. An easy way to do that is with HomeLight’s Home Value Estimator, which gives you a quick estimate of what your home may be worth.
This free automated valuation model (AVM) tool uses recent sales transactions, local market trends, and your home’s latest selling price to provide a preliminary range of value for your property in under two minutes. Just enter your address to get started.
The estimate is a ballpark indicator of how you might set the sale price. Again, keep in mind that the sale price is different than the amount you’ll walk away with, but we’ll get more into those details later.
“Contacting a local agent in your market is the most effective way of finding a true market evaluation,” says Marissa Papa, a Connecticut real estate agent with over 20 years of experience. “It’s a very prudent part of the process [since] an experienced agent can provide a comparative market analysis.”
Get an appraiser’s opinion: Another option to estimate your home’s value is to get a pre-listing appraisal, although it’s not required and comes with additional costs. Additionally, an agent who is knowledgeable about trends in your zip code will rely on the same factors of analysis as an appraiser, Papa says. Sellers who want to get a pre-listing appraisal anyway should prepare to spend between $300 and $750.
While working with a seasoned agent is a crucial first step, doing your own online research to get an estimated value is a great way to kick off the home selling process. With home values nationwide seeing significant annual growth, it’s good to keep track of where things stand for your own property.
How much does it cost to sell a house?
Knowing what your home might be worth is a great starting point, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Remember, the amount you sell your house for and the amount you actually keep can be two very different numbers. That’s because several costs come out of your proceeds before the money reaches your bank account.
Keep in mind that total out-of-pocket costs aren’t the same for everyone, since they depend on your situation and the choices you make along the way. Still, there are some common expenses most sellers can expect.
Based on our interviews and research, here are some of the top expenses you can expect when selling a home.
Home preparation expenses
Getting your home ready to sell isn’t free. Cleaning, repairs, staging, and curb appeal upgrades all come with costs.
As repairs and improvements can add a hefty sum to your costs, it’s best to consult with your Realtor before embarking on any projects to ensure that you choose repairs that are necessary and upgrades that yield the highest return on investment (ROI).
Agent commissions
One of the biggest costs of selling a home is the real estate agent’s commission. Traditionally, agent fees ranged from 5% to 6% of the sale price, split between the buyer’s and listing agents, both paid by the seller. However, following the National Association of Realtors (NAR) landmark settlement, commission structures have changed.
Sellers are no longer required to cover the buyer’s agent’s commission, as agent fees have been decoupled. Instead, buyers must negotiate directly with their agents, while sellers typically pay around 3% for their own agent. For example, if your home sells for $450,000, you’ll likely pay $13,500 in commission to your listing agent.
Still, some sellers offer to cover the buyer’s agent’s fee to attract more buyers and speed up the sale. Using the same example, covering both agent commissions would cost $27,000 in total.
While this might seem like a lot of money to part with, remember that working with a top agent can not only help you sell for top dollar but also save you the time it takes to market the house and deal with the stickier aspects of the transaction, such as negotiations.
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Marissa Papa Real Estate Agent
Marissa Papa Real Estate Agent at Preston Gray Real Estate
Currently accepting new clients
- Years of Experience 22
- Transactions 671
- Average Price Point $422k
- Single Family Homes 504
Though not common in all states, some more complicated transactions, such as ones involving a divorce between the sellers, might involve a real estate attorney. Such professionals can run about $150 to 400 per hour. However, this cost is negotiable, too, according to Papa.
Seller concessions
During the contingency period, negotiations between buyers and sellers usually take place that sometimes result in concessions or incentives in the buyer’s favor. For example, if a home inspection turns up major repairs, especially ones tied to safety or health issues, the seller might either pay to fix them before closing or give the buyer a credit to cover the cost of the work.
In other scenarios, sellers might agree to cover all or part of the buyer’s closing costs. Sometimes the sale price even gets renegotiated lower, which means the seller walks away with less money than they originally expected.
These costs can vary depending on your market and your specific property. That said, Papa suggests a few ways to help keep them in check. For example, getting a pre-listing inspection can help you catch and fix any major issues early, so you’re not hit with surprises during the contingency period.
In a sellers’ market, some buyers will waive the inspection contingency to sweeten their offer. Additionally, some people opt to sell a property as-is. However, consult with your agent to determine if that’s recommended for your property.
“Knowledge is key throughout the process,” says Papa. “If you’ve got a really good agent working on your behalf, vetting these offers, you could go in the direction where you pick the offer that’s letting you walk away with the most money.”
Here’s a list of some common seller concessions or buyer incentives:
- Home inspection fees: $300 to $500
- Buyer’s home warranty: $$350 to $900 per year
- Closing cost credit: 2% to 5% of the loan amount
- Repair credit: Varies, but mortgage lenders usually place limits on the amount of credits allowed
- Labor and materials costs: Associated with directly paying for repairs requested by the buyer (can be reduced if your agent has connections with contractors)
- Purchase price reduction: Varies, depending on the negotiations
Closing costs and additional fees
Although your mortgage balance payoff will likely be the largest item you’ll pay for at closing, there are other expenses, some of which can vary by city or state. On average, sellers pay about 6% to 10% of the sale price in closing costs. With a median U.S. home price of $429,300, prepare to pay as much as $42,930. However, just keep in mind the number can really vary.
Here’s a list of typical closing costs:
- Mortgage loan payoff: $269,562 (average mortgage debt)
- Escrow fee: 1% to 2% of the sale price (negotiable between buyer and seller)
- Title fees: 0.5% to 1% of the sale price
- Homeowner’s association (HOA) dues: Prorated portion of the annual amount
- Reconveyance fees: $50 to $65, though varies by state
- Attorney fees (if an attorney is required in your state): $150 to $400 per hour, though negotiable
- Property taxes: Varies, usually a prorated portion of the annual amount
- Transfer tax: Varies, $1 to $3 per $1,000 of transferred net value
How much money will you keep after selling your house?
Once you’ve gone over the common expenses of selling a home, it becomes clearer why your sale price isn’t what you actually take home. To figure out what you’ll really keep, you need to account for all those costs, along with your remaining mortgage balance.
That’s where the net proceeds formula comes in:
Net Proceeds = Sale Price – (Mortgage Payoff + Home Prep Costs + Agent Commissions + Concessions + Closing Costs)
It’s a simple way to see what’s left after everything gets deducted from the sale. Using this formula along with your home value estimate gives you a much more realistic picture of your actual payout.
An example of how much you might keep after selling a house
Use the following example based on the median home sale price to get a sense of how much you might take away from your sale. For further insights, check out national averages for sellers’ costs and fees.
| Selling expense | Example cost | Percentage of home sale price |
| Home preparation | $13,738 | 3.2% |
| Agent commissions | $12,879 | 3% |
| Seller concessions | $11,162 | 2.6% |
| Closing costs, taxes, fees | $12,879 | 3% |
| Mortgage Payoff | $164,422 | 38.3% |
| Transfer tax (varies by state) | $5,581 | 1.3% |
| Total selling cost example | $220,661 | 51.4% |
*Based on the median U.S. home price of $429,300
- Final home selling price: $429,300
- Subtract the total of all selling expenses: $220,661
- Example of net proceeds: $208,639
A seller net sheet takes this breakdown a step further by laying out all your expected costs and deductions in one place, based on your specific sale. It’s basically a more detailed, real-world version of the example calculation here, helping you get a clearer estimate of what you’ll actually walk away with before closing.
Your agent prepares it early on in the selling process, when you’re deciding whether to list your home or figuring out your pricing strategy. It gets updated again once offers come in or during escrow. Since numbers like concessions, repairs, and closing costs can change along the way, the net sheet helps keep your estimated payout realistic.
Now, before you pop the champagne to celebrate all the money you made, consider if your property sale proceeds are subject to capital gains tax. If the house was your primary home for at least two years or for at least two out of the five previous years, you may qualify to exclude up to $250,000 of profit from taxation and up to $500,000 for married couples filing jointly.
»Learn more: Now that you understand how the math works, take it a step further with a Net Proceeds Calculator. It quickly shows you how much money you could pocket after everything is deducted.
How can you reduce your costs as a seller?
Now that you’ve seen how the numbers come together in a real net proceeds calculation, it’s easier to see how quickly costs can add up. The good news is that not all of those expenses are set in stone. There are a few smart ways sellers can actually reduce what they pay out of pocket during the process.
As you look ahead to your next home purchase, try these other free HomeLight tools for buyers:
Find a Top-performing Agent Who Can Get You Top Dollar
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Partner with a top agent for the best home-selling outcome
Your best bet for the highest home sale proceeds is to partner with a top real estate agent who can guide you through each step of the process. After negotiating an appropriate commission with your agent, they can help you craft the best list price, advise on what repairs are worth your while, market your property, steer you toward the most promising offer, and negotiate terms in your favor.
HomeLight’s free Agent Match platform can connect you with the highest-performing agents in your market who can help you make the best of your home sale.
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