What It Costs to Sell a Property in Australia in 2026

Most sellers focus on the sale price and forget that a meaningful slice of it never reaches their pocket. The headline number on the contract is not the number that lands in your account at settlement. Between the agent, the marketing, the lawyers and the bank, the total cost of selling a property in Australia typically runs from 2 to 4 per cent of the sale price, and sometimes more.

This guide walks through every cost a seller or developer faces in 2026, with indicative ranges and a worked example on an 800,000 dollar sale. It also explains where the biggest levers sit, because the cost of selling matters far less than the net result. A well run, competitive sale process can lift the price by more than it costs to run.

Agent Commission

Commission is usually the single largest cost of selling. It is charged as a percentage of the final settled price and it is always negotiable. There is no legislated rate in any Australian state, so the figure you agree depends on your property, your market and your negotiation.

Indicative ranges by location in 2026 sit roughly as follows. [Verify current rates]

• New South Wales: around 1.8 to 2.5 per cent in Sydney, higher in regional areas at 2.5 to 3.5 per cent
• Victoria: around 1.6 to 2.5 per cent in Melbourne, higher again across regional Victoria
• Queensland: around 2.0 to 2.95 per cent, with inner Brisbane often lower than outer and regional areas
• South Australia: typically lower than the national average, often around 1.5 to 2.5 per cent
• Western Australia: around 1.5 to 2.5 per cent, with Perth averaging close to 2.0 per cent

Goods and services tax of 10 per cent usually applies on top of commission, so confirm whether the rate you are quoted is inclusive or exclusive of GST.

Commission is structured in one of two ways. A flat percentage applies a single rate to the whole sale price. A tiered or incentive structure applies one rate up to a target figure and a higher rate on everything above it, which is designed to reward the agent for pushing past your expectation. Tiered structures can align everyone behind a stronger result, but only if the base target is set honestly.

What Drives the Rate

Several factors move the number. Higher value properties often attract a lower percentage because the dollar fee is still substantial. Competitive metropolitan markets with many agents tend to push rates down. A difficult or slow market, a unique property or a long expected campaign can push rates up. The quality and brand of the agent matter too, since a stronger operator may justify a premium by delivering a better price.

When you negotiate, focus on the net outcome rather than the rate in isolation. A lower commission paired with a weaker sale process can cost you far more than the saving. Ask each agent to put their fee, their marketing spend and their pricing strategy in writing so you can compare like for like.

Marketing and Advertising (VPA)

The vendor advertising or vendor paid advertising cost, often shortened to VPA, covers promoting your property to buyers. It is separate from commission and is usually payable whether or not the property settles. Typical inclusions are professional photography, floor plans, portal listings on the major sites, signboards, brochures and sometimes video or drone work.

For a standard residential sale, marketing commonly runs from about 2,000 to 8,000 dollars depending on the property, the campaign length and the portals chosen. Premium campaigns on higher value homes can run well beyond that. [Verify current rates]

Marketing is one cost where the cheapest option is rarely the smartest. Visibility drives competition and competition drives price. The goal is the widest qualified buyer pool, not the lowest invoice.

Conveyancing and Legal Fees

You need a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor to handle the legal side of the sale, including preparing the contract of sale and the vendor disclosure statement, and managing settlement. Fees typically range from about 800 to 2,500 dollars depending on the state, the complexity of the title and whether a solicitor or a conveyancer is used. [Verify current rates]

Some states require additional vendor disclosure documents and searches before you can list, which can add modest costs up front. Engage your conveyancer early, because the contract often needs to be ready before marketing begins.

Auction Fees

If you sell by auction you usually pay an auctioneer fee on top of commission and marketing. This commonly sits in the range of about 400 to 1,000 dollars, though some agencies bundle it into the campaign. [Verify current rates]

Auction is not right for every property or market, but where buyer competition is strong it can create urgency and transparency that lifts the result. Weigh the added fee against the likely benefit for your specific property.

Styling, Staging and Pre-Sale Repairs

Presentation influences price more than most sellers expect. Property styling or staging, where furniture and decor are hired to present the home at its best, commonly costs from about 2,000 to 6,000 dollars for a typical campaign, and more for larger homes. [Verify current rates]

Pre-sale repairs and a thorough clean are a separate cost and vary widely. Fixing obvious faults, freshening paint, tidying gardens and decluttering can be done for a few hundred dollars or stretch into the thousands. The test is simple. Spend where the return on presentation is likely to exceed the outlay, and stop there.

Building and Pest Reports

In most residential sales the buyer pays for building and pest inspections. In some cases, particularly for auction campaigns or to build buyer confidence, a seller chooses to commission their own reports up front and make them available. Where you do, expect to pay roughly 400 to 700 dollars. [Verify current rates]

This is an optional cost. It can reduce the risk of a buyer walking away after a late inspection, which has value in a competitive campaign.

Capital Gains Tax Considerations

Capital gains tax can apply when you sell an investment property or any property that is not your main residence. This section is general information only and not tax advice, so confirm your position with a registered tax adviser.

The main residence exemption generally means you do not pay capital gains tax on the sale of the home you live in, subject to conditions. For investment properties, any gain is generally added to your assessable income in the year of the sale, with a discount that may apply where the asset has been held for the required period. Developers and those selling property as part of a business are treated differently again.

The figures vary enormously with your circumstances, your holding period and your other income, so this is one area to model with your accountant well before you sell, not after.

Mortgage Discharge and Break Costs

If your property has a loan against it, the bank charges a mortgage discharge fee to release the title at settlement. This is usually modest, commonly around 150 to 600 dollars. [Verify current rates]

The larger risk sits with fixed rate loans. Breaking a fixed rate before its term ends can trigger break costs, which depend on the size of the loan, the time remaining and how interest rates have moved. These can range from negligible to several thousand dollars or more. Ask your lender for a written figure before you commit to a sale timeline.

Council and Water Adjustments at Settlement

At settlement, council rates, water rates and any owners corporation or body corporate fees are adjusted between you and the buyer so each party pays only for the days they own the property. If you have prepaid rates beyond the settlement date you are credited, and if amounts are owing you are debited.

The net effect is usually small, often a few hundred dollars either way, but it should be accounted for so the settlement figure does not surprise you.

Moving Costs

The last cost is the practical one. Removalists for a typical home commonly cost from about 500 to 3,000 dollars depending on the volume, the distance and whether you pay for packing. Add cleaning, mail redirection, utility connections and any short term storage, and the total climbs. [Verify current rates]

Moving costs are easy to underestimate, so build a realistic figure into your numbers early.

Worked Example: An 800,000 Dollar Sale

The table below sets out an indicative total for a standard residential sale at 800,000 dollars. Every figure is illustrative and will vary with your state, your agent and your property. This is general information, not a quote.

Cost	Basis	Indicative amount (AUD)
Agent commission	2.2 per cent of sale price	17,600
GST on commission	10 per cent of commission	1,760
Marketing (VPA)	Standard campaign	5,000
Conveyancing and legal	Standard sale	1,500
Auction fee	If sold by auction	700
Styling and staging	Hired furniture and decor	4,000
Pre-sale repairs and clean	Minor works	2,000
Building and pest (optional)	Seller commissioned	600
Mortgage discharge	Lender fee	350
Council and water adjustments	Net at settlement	300
Moving costs	Removalists and related	2,000
Indicative total		35,810

On this example the total cost of selling is around 35,810 dollars, or roughly 4.5 per cent of the sale price. Strip out the optional items, such as auction, styling and a seller commissioned inspection, and the figure falls closer to 3.4 per cent. Capital gains tax is not included because it depends entirely on your circumstances and whether the main residence exemption applies.

The point of the example is not the exact total. It is that the controllable costs, marketing and presentation in particular, are small relative to the price they can help unlock.

How a Competitive Sale Process Offsets the Costs

Here is the part most cost guides miss. The cheapest sale is rarely the best sale. What matters is the net result after costs, and the biggest lever on the net result is the price itself.

A property exposed to a wide, competitive pool of qualified buyers tends to settle at a stronger price than one shown to a narrow local audience. On an 800,000 dollar property, a lift of just 2 per cent is 16,000 dollars, which is more than the entire commission in this example. Spending sensibly on marketing and presentation, and running a genuinely competitive process, is how that lift is earned.

This is where AgentBridge fits. AgentBridge distributes your property simultaneously to a national network of more than 80 buyers agents, each representing active, qualified purchasers. Instead of relying on whoever happens to be searching one local market, your property is put in front of motivated buyers across the country at the same time. More qualified competition, working in your favour, at the point where it moves the price.

For sellers and developers, that distribution sits alongside your existing sale strategy rather than replacing it. The aim is straightforward. Widen the buyer pool, sharpen the competition and improve the net result after every cost on this list.

The Bottom Line

Budget for total selling costs of roughly 2 to 4 per cent of your sale price in a standard campaign, plus capital gains tax where it applies to an investment property. Commission is the largest line, marketing and presentation are the most controllable, and the bank and legal costs are smaller but easy to overlook.

Treat the costs as an investment in the result, not just a deduction from it. The sellers who do best are the ones who run a competitive, well distributed process and measure success by what lands in their account at settlement.

If you are preparing to sell or distribute a development, talk to AgentBridge about putting your property in front of a national network of buyers agents and the purchasers they represent.

This article is general information only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Commission rates, fees and statutory charges vary by state, agent and individual circumstances, and the figures shown are indicative as at June 2026. Capital gains tax and other tax outcomes depend on your personal situation; seek advice from a registered tax adviser, conveyancer or solicitor before making decisions.