What are the costs of selling real estate?

Legal / Conveyancing

In most states, you are not able to sell your property unless you have a contract of sale prepared.  Engaging a lawyer or conveyancer to ensure your real estate contract is drawn up with accuracy is an important first step and in some states, an essential item before you are able to even list your property for sale.

Legal and conveyancing costs vary depending on the complexity for your property, however, budget for approx: $1500-$3000.

Professional photography of your property

Great marketing is all about using maximum exposure to capture people’s attention and interest in a property.  In most cases the first thing a buyer will see is an image of the listing, therefore the best way to grab someone’s attention is to use a professional photographer who is focused on capturing the best features of a property.  With 70% of buyers likely to see your property online, making sure you have high quality, accurate images of the property will help your property stand out from the crowd.

Another way to make your property stand out is to also produce property videos which are great for sharing on social media

Photography this can vary dramatically depending on your requirements, whether you want a twilight photo, drone photo or have other requirements.  It is best to talk to your agent about costs involved here.

Video’s start at approximately $300 and goes up to $3000 depending on what you are looking for.

Marketing your property

Marketing is a separate cost paid for by the seller on top of the commission that the agent receives when the property sells.

These funds are kept in a trust account and used to pay for marketing material such as signage, newspaper advertising, internet advertising, brochure printing and auction marketing.  A typical marketing budget is approximately 1% of the asking price. For example, on a $600,000 property, you should expect to spend $6,000 on marketing.  This could be paid upfront or out of the settlement monies depending on the agreement made. 

Marketing is normally payable even if the agent does not successfully sell the property.

Budget for 1% of your asking price

Agent Commission

Agent commission is a percentage that is calculated on the sale price and is paid to the agent at the time of settlement.  You don’t need to factor this expense in up front as the agents' commission is only paid if your property sells.

Property styling

Styling your home to sell is an important element to a successful sale according to 98% of LJ Hooker agents.  Home styling can be decluttering, cleaning and de-personalise the home, rearranging the existing furnishings and accessories through to employing a professional home stylist who will remove the majority of the existing belongings and refurnish/decorate the space with hired items.  

Property styling your home will boost final sales price from 7.5% to 12.5% according to a survey of the top agents in LJ Hooker.  With 87% surveyed agents believing you will earn a higher price by property styling.  To find out more about styling and the increases in your sale price click here

Depending on what you want to get done budget for $500 - $1000’s.

See more about marketing click here

Moving costs

Depending on how much you have to move you may decide to organise the move yourself, hire a van and get a few friends to help you - this is the cheapest option and will cost approximately $100 to hire a van and $100 for beers and pizza for your mates.

If you decided to use the services of a professional moving company it is recommended you get a quote from 2-3 different providers for the services you’re seeking.  You’ll also need to decide which type of service you want. This might be a full pack, removal and unpack at your new home, or removal only. Most removalists offer insurance on top of their services, and this can be a useful tool to protect your contents from accidental loss or damage.

Budget range $500-$3000