💵 Cost to sell
What It Really Costs to Sell a House in California
The price on the listing is never the amount that lands in your bank account. Between commissions, closing costs, repairs, and the months of carrying the home, selling a California house the traditional way often costs 8–12% of the sale price or more.
Here’s a realistic example on a $700,000 home: a 5.5% commission runs about $38,500, seller closing costs another ~$10,500, repairs and prep maybe $15,000, and three months of carrying costs around $9,000 — leaving roughly $627,000, or about 10% gone before you move.
A cash sale is different by design: no commission, no repairs, no staging, no months of carrying costs, and a buyer who typically covers standard closing costs. The offer is lower than full retail — that’s the honest trade — but because none of the above comes out of it, the net is often surprisingly close.
Use the calculator below to put in your own numbers and compare both paths side by side.
Where the money goes
The real costs of a traditional sale
The sale price is never what you pocket. These are the costs that quietly come out of it — a cash sale removes nearly all of them.
Compare your net
Agent sale vs. cash sale — what do you actually keep?
The highest sale price isn’t the same as the most money in your pocket. Set your numbers below to compare what a traditional listing nets you — after commission, closing costs, repairs, and months of carrying the home — against a cash sale with none of those.
Traditional agent sale
$715,000
- Sale price$800,000
- − Agent commission (5.5%)−$44,000
- − Closing costs (1%)−$8,000
- − Repairs−$25,000
- − Carrying (3 mo)−$8,400
Cash sale to us
$698,000
- Cash offer$698,000
- − Commission$0
- − Closing costs$0
- − Repairs$0
- − Carrying$0
A traditional sale nets about $17,000 more here — but it takes months, needs repairs up front, and can fall through. A cash sale trades that for speed and certainty.
Get my real cash offer →For illustrative purposes only. Contact us for a real cash offer. Figures are estimates based on the numbers you entered and typical assumptions — commissions, costs, and timelines vary.
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Source: Agent vs. Cash Net-Proceeds Calculator — SGV Home Buyers
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What's the biggest cost of selling a house?
The agent commission — typically 5–6% of the sale price. On a $700,000 home that's around $38,500, before any other costs.
Who pays closing costs in California?
Both sides have costs. Sellers usually cover escrow, title, the county documentary transfer tax, and prorated property taxes — often 1–3% of the price. In a cash sale to us, we typically cover the standard closing costs.
How much do sellers spend on repairs?
It varies widely — from a few thousand dollars for paint and cleanup to tens of thousands for a home that needs real work. And it's all spent up front, before you see any proceeds.
Is a cash sale really cheaper?
The offer is lower than full retail, but a cash sale removes commissions, repairs, staging, and months of carrying costs — so the net is often much closer than the headline price suggests. The calculator above lets you compare.
Get your cash offer
Request your free cash offer
Tell us about your property and the best number to reach you. We’ll call you back with a fair, no-obligation cash offer — no pressure, no spam. Prefer to talk now? Call (321) 328-7375.
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