Skyrocketing home selling costs blindside homeowners

With homebuying affordability typically capturing headlines, the costs of selling a home are often overlooked.

But those costs have risen sharply in 2026 to an average of nearly $82,000, according to newly released survey results from Clever Real Estate, a real estate brokerage. That well exceeds the average cost to sell of about $62,245 reported in 2025.

Perhaps more concerningly, roughly half of surveyed homeowners reported the cost of selling was higher than they anticipated.

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The rising cost to sell reflects how years of soft homebuying demand have increased the burden on sellers trying to part with their properties. With more inventory on the market but many prospective buyers priced out, home sellers have consistently outnumbered buyers amid a slow pace of sales.

Pre- and post-listing repairs accounted for the largest chunk of selling costs at an average of $27,649 this year, or one-third of average seller costs, according to the Clever survey. That figure is 32% higher than the average repair costs last year.

The report also indicated that about 7 in 10 sellers made some form of home repair or renovation, the costs for which have skyrocketed in recent years amid inflation, supply chain disruptions and skilled construction labor shortages.

More than 20 states recorded quarterly repair cost increases exceeding 1% during the second quarter, according to data from Verisk Analytics. That showed an acceleration from recent quarters, due in large measure to economic fallout from the Iran war.

Listing agent and optional buyer’s agent fees comprised the second-largest share of seller costs, exceeding a combined average of $27,000. Closing costs and buyer concessions followed as the highest seller costs, at an average of slightly above $11,000 and nearly $10,000, respectively.

“About 46% say the cost of selling their home was higher than expected,” the report noted. “Only 37% said the same in 2025, but today’s slower market has sellers paying to attract buyers in ways they never anticipated.”

Nearly 8 in 10 sellers made concessions to buyers, with the offer of a flexible closing date being the most common at 36%. About 30% of respondents said they cut the price or offered an early move-in date, while roughly one-quarter said they paid for repairs, repair credits or closing cost assistance.

“While some concessions require a sacrifice of only time and convenience, others have a real monetary cost,” said the report.