Selling your house will likely cost you about 8–10% of the sale price, plus your mortgage payoff—but once you see the numbers broken out, you’ll know exactly what you’ll walk away with. On a $600K sale with $300K left on your loan, you can eMost sellers go into a listing knowing they’ll pay agent commission and not much else. Then the closing statement shows up and there are line items they weren’t expecting — excise tax, escrow fees, prorated taxes, title insurance — and the number they actually walk away with is lower than the number they planned around.
The rule of thumb is that selling typically costs about 8–10% of the sale price, plus your mortgage payoff. But the percentage isn’t really the useful number. The useful number is your net — what’s left after every line item comes out. Here’s how to build that picture before you ever hit the market.
The four buckets that eat into your proceeds
When you sell, four main categories come out of your sale price before you see a dollar:
1. Agent commissions
This is typically the largest single cost — and the one people are most aware of. Commission is calculated as a percentage of the sale price, split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. In Washington, total commission typically runs 5–6%, though recent industry changes have shifted some markets toward structures in the 4.5–5.5% range depending on how the deal is structured.
On a $600,000 sale at 5.5%, that’s $33,000 out of your proceeds at closing. Commission is negotiable — not fixed — and it’s worth having a direct conversation about what you’re getting for it rather than just shopping for the lowest percentage. A well-marketed listing that sells faster and closer to full price usually nets you more than a discounted commission on a deal that sat on the market for 60 days.
2. Closing costs
These are the transactional costs of actually transferring the property — escrow fees, title insurance, recording fees, and the smaller line items that accumulate. Sellers in Washington typically pay 1–3% of the sale price in closing costs, though the exact number varies by county and title company.
| Item | Typical range | $600K example |
|---|---|---|
| Escrow / settlement fee | $500–$1,500 | ~$1,000 |
| Owner’s title insurance | $1,000–$2,500 | ~$1,800 |
| Recording fees | $100–$300 | ~$200 |
| Courier / wire fees | $50–$200 | ~$100 |
| Total closing costs | ~1–3% of sale price | ~$9,000 |
3. Washington-specific taxes and transfer fees
This is the one that surprises out-of-state sellers most. Washington has a Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) that sellers pay — it’s based on the sale price and goes to the state, not a service provider. On a $600,000 sale, that’s nearly $8,000 coming off the top before anything else.
| Item | Who pays | $600K example |
|---|---|---|
| Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) | Seller | 1.28% ≈ $7,680 |
| Prorated property taxes | Seller (up to closing date) | ~$2,000 (varies) |
| HOA transfer fee (if applicable) | Seller | $200–$500 |
| Total taxes / fees | ~$10,000 |
Property tax prorations depend on timing — if you close mid-year after taxes have already been paid, you’ll receive a credit back. If taxes are due soon and you close before paying, you’ll owe them at closing. The math shifts based on your closing date.
4. Mortgage payoff and other liens
This one is obvious but worth saying clearly: whatever you still owe on your mortgage comes out of the sale proceeds before you get anything. On a $600,000 sale with $300,000 left on the loan, $300,000 leaves the closing table directly to your lender.
Beyond the primary mortgage, any other liens — unpaid property taxes, judgment liens, contractor liens, or past-due HOA assessments — also get paid from proceeds. This isn’t optional and it isn’t negotiable. Liens have to be cleared for title to transfer cleanly.
Worth knowing: Get your mortgage payoff statement early in the process, not at closing. The balance you see on your monthly statement isn’t the same as your payoff amount — there’s accrued interest and sometimes prepayment considerations. Your lender can give you a 30-day payoff figure that’s much more useful for planning.
What the net sheet actually looks like
Put it all together on a $600,000 sale with $300,000 left on the mortgage:
|
Sale price |
$600,000 |
|
− Agent commissions (5.5%) |
−$33,000 |
|
− Closing costs (~1.5%) |
−$9,000 |
|
− Taxes and transfer fees |
−$10,000 |
|
− Mortgage payoff |
−$300,000 |
|
Net proceeds |
$248,000 |
Price sensitivity matters more than most sellers realize. Bump the same sale to $650,000 — same costs, same payoff — and your net jumps to about $303,000, a $55,000 difference on a $50,000 price increase. Drop to $575,000 and your net falls to roughly $193,000. The mortgage payoff and transaction costs stay largely fixed regardless of price, so every dollar of price movement flows almost entirely to your bottom line.
“Before you set your list price, run the numbers at three scenarios — optimistic, realistic, and conservative. Know your net at each one. That’s how you make a real decision about pricing strategy, not just a guess.”
How net proceeds break down by situation
| Situation | Likely net as % of sale | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Strong equity, good condition | 40–50% of sale price | 30–60 days |
| Light distress, motivated seller | 30–40% of sale price | 45–90 days |
| Heavy distress or foreclosure, cash buyer | 20–30% of sale price | 7–30 days |
Five ways to keep more of what you sell for
You can’t eliminate selling costs, but you can manage them intentionally.
Price it right the first time. Overpriced listings sit. Days on market accumulate. You pay carrying costs — mortgage, taxes, insurance — for every additional month the house is on the market, and eventually you take a price cut anyway. A well-priced listing that sells in two weeks almost always nets more than an overpriced one that sells in eight.
Negotiate commission thoughtfully. This is especially worth discussing if you have strong equity, a clean and desirable home, or a well-defined scope of what you need. A lower commission can make sense in the right situation — just make sure you understand what’s changing when the number changes.
Get your mortgage payoff early. Know your real number before you set your price, not after you accept an offer.
Time your closing around property tax due dates. Depending on where you are in the tax cycle, closing timing can save or cost you several thousand dollars in prorations. Worth asking about.
Consider a cash buyer for distressed or timeline-sensitive sales. Commission structures and timelines can be very different in cash buyer transactions. The trade-off is usually a lower sale price — but for some situations, the speed and certainty are worth more than the difference.
The number that actually matters
Most sellers focus on the sale price. The sale price is what shows up on Zillow and what the neighbors hear about. But the number that actually matters — the one that determines what you can do next — is your net proceeds after every line item comes out.
Before you list, ask for a custom net sheet that runs your actual mortgage payoff, current local REET rates, estimated closing costs, and at least three price scenarios. That’s not a complicated ask — it should take about 20 minutes with your agent — and it’s the most useful thing you can do before you commit to a price or a timeline.