Nearly 1 in 4 sellers (24%) went into debt to cover the cost of selling their home.
ST. LOUIS, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Home sellers spent an average of $81,918 to sell their home, up 22% from $67,245 in 2025, according to a new report from Clever Real Estate, a nationwide discount real estate broker where sellers can compare full-service, low-commission real estate agents near them and save money on their next sale.
The actual cost was more than triple the $26,883 sellers expected. As a result, 46% say their home sale cost more than they planned for, compared to 37% in 2025.
Had they known the true cost of selling ahead of time, 69% of recent sellers would have made different decisions. In fact, sellers believe they could have sold for $34,139 more if they had approached the process differently.
Repairs, which 71% of sellers made, were the single biggest home-selling expense, costing an average of $27,649, up 32% from last year.
Closing costs jumped to $11,147, up 36% from $8,217 in 2025. Sellers ranked closing costs as the most confusing and most unexpectedly expensive part of the sale.
More than three-quarters of sellers (78%) made concessions to attract buyers, worth $9,914 on average. Sellers without an agent paid $10,920 in concessions, nearly $1,500 more than sellers who used an agent ($9,433).
Sellers also pay about $27,448 in commissions for both the buyer's and seller's agent, based on a 5.46% rate on the typical U.S. sale price.
Three-fourths of unrepresented sellers (75%) skipped an agent to save on commission, but spent drastically more on repairs, concessions, and marketing. Sellers without an agent only spent about $1,136 less, while taking on the entire burden of selling a home themselves.
Thirty-eight percent of unrepresented sellers wish they had used an agent, compared to just 22% of represented sellers who wish they had not. Overall, 64% of sellers would consider using a low-commission realtor the next time they sell.
Selling quickly (49%) was sellers' top priority, narrowly ahead of earning the highest profit (48%). Still, 41% of sellers say their home took three months or more to sell, and 73% accepted a lower offer than they wanted in exchange for perks such as selling as-is, a faster closing, or selling to a cash buyer.
Eighty percent of sellers made a profit on their sale, earning $191,304 on average, but 39% say it was less than expected because of selling costs.
Read the full report at: https://listwithclever.com/research/how-much-does-it-cost-to-sell-a-house
About Clever Real Estate
Clever Real Estate allows sellers to compare top-rated discount real estate brokers and low-commission realtors in their local area. Clever's content reaches over 12 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 4.9-star Trustpilot rating across more than 4,600 customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached over $17.5 billion in real estate sold, matched over 278,000 customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $260 million on commission fees. Clever's network spans over 13,000 agents across all 50 states.
CONTACT:
Nicole Lehman
Clever Real Estate
425647@email4pr.com
724-719-0406
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SOURCE Clever Real Estate
