Average Cost of Selling a Home Surpasses $65K, Survey Claims

Swelling valuations have a lot of homeowners across the United States sitting pretty on a pile of cash, but realizing that equity comes at a cost — and it’s more than you’d think.

It still takes money to make money, and selling your home is no exception. According to a recent survey by the cash-offer home selling platform Clever Offers, it costs a whopping $67,245 on average to offload a single-family home, more than triple what surveyed sellers were expecting.

Now, we’re not just talking about closing costs here. This survey tried to take into account all the associated expenditures of selling a home, including staging and marketing fees, concessions to buyers, repairs, and moving expenses.

A significant share (17%) of respondents to the survey registered their disappointment with their profit, with a slight majority (51%) of those former homeowners blaming the total cost of selling. The survey also shows some signs of increased leverage on the part of buyers.

“Many sellers also found their profit fell short of expectations before their home even sold, with 43% lowering the asking price. Even then, a price reduction didn’t guarantee a full-price offer. Sellers were more likely to say the buyer paid below the asking price (34%) than above it (20%),” the report reads.

The survey polled 783 adults in the United States who sold a home between 2023 and 2025, with responses collected between July 25 and August 4 of this year. But if recent market data is any indication, the share of sellers feeling shortchanged is likely to grow.

Realtor.com’s August Monthly Housing Trends Report notes increases in price cuts, seller incentives, and average time on the market. While sellers are calling the shots in 23 of the 50 biggest metros, buyers are now in the driver’s seat in seven markets. The remainder are balanced markets.

“We’re in a weird limbo — certain price points favor buyers, others still lean sellers. But make no mistake: leverage is shifting,” Josh Jarboe, principal broker-owner at Re/Max Empire, told Realtor.com.

Of the selling expenses clocked by the Clever Offers survey, agent commissions (buyer and seller combined) were the biggest, averaging nearly $28,000. When asked to note what regrets they had with their sale, the top choice selected by respondents was “Realtor commission was too high.” Some 19% of home sellers polled marked that option, and 11% said “I didn’t negotiate commission.”

When asked what they would do differently, the three top answers were “I would have negotiated more with the buyer” (21%), “I would have set a higher listing price” (21%), and “I would have waited for more offers” (20%).

On the whole, 79% of sellers surveyed said they made a profit, though the surprise expenses took the air out of many of their sails.