The High Price of Selling a House

U.S. homeowners spend $18,342 on average to sell their home, according to online real estate firm Zillow and Thumbtack's 2018 Hidden Costs of Selling analysis.
Zillow and Thumbtack identified several common, but often overlooked, seller expenses and calculated what they would cost around the country.
Since most (61 percent) of today's sellers have never sold a home before, many of these costs may come as a surprise.
Home sellers spend more time getting their home ready to sell than it will spend on the market, with the majority (78 percent) of sellers making at least one home improvement.
Sellers who hire professional help spend $4,985 on average to cover many basic seller prep projects like painting, staging, carpet cleaning, lawn care and gardening and local moving costs.
However, labor costs can vary significantly by metro.
Sellers in San Jose, Calif. pay $6,580 on average, whereas sellers in Dallas pay an average of $3,720 for the same projects.
Home sellers are also responsible for agent commissions and transfer or sales taxes, which are two of the largest closing costs.
Nationally, sellers spend $13,357 on average for both costs. However, since they are percentages of a home's sale price, sellers in pricey markets like San Jose pay much more - $74,927 on average for the median priced home, the highest of the metros analyzed.
Sellers in Indianapolis pay the least ($8,604), as home values are lower and the state has no transfer tax.
Despite low inventory in many parts of the country, sellers still encounter massive pain points. From unexpected costs to determining the right list price, three out of four sellers say it was stressful or challenging to sell their home, according to the 2017 Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trend Report.
Another 76 percent of sellers say they made at least one concession during the process, with reducing the list price as the most-cited compromise.
Thumbtack is an app and a website that finds local professionals for various projects. It can instantly show available businesses and how much they'll cost.