Home sellers are being surprised by the true price of closing a deal

New research shows a record gap between what home sellers expect to spend and what a sale actually ends up costing.

Most U.S. home sellers enter the process with a figure in mind, but few come close to that estimate.

Fresh research from Clever Real Estate, a nationwide discount brokerage, says the cost of selling a home in the U.S. reached a record in 2026, well above seller expectations and driven by repair bills, closing fees and concessions that caught many people by surprise.

The average cost of selling a home hit $81,918 in 2026, up 22% from $67,245 the previous year and more than three times the $26,883 sellers expected to pay.

The findings also matter for mortgage brokers, since many clients depend on sale proceeds to help fund the down payment on their next home.

Nearly one in four sellers, or 24%, said they went into debt to cover selling expenses. Another 46% said the process went over budget, up from 37% the year before.

Looking back, 69% of recent sellers said they would have handled the sale differently if they had known the full cost in advance, and they believe they could have netted $34,139 more.

Repairs and closing fees are driving the increase

Repairs were the biggest single expense, averaging $27,649. That figure was up 32% from a year earlier among the 71% of sellers who made pre-sale improvements.

Closing costs also climbed sharply, rising 36% to $11,147 from $8,217 in 2025. Sellers described these fees as both the most confusing and the most unexpectedly expensive part of the process.

Agent commissions added another $27,448, based on a combined 5.46% rate on the typical U.S. sale price.

The report arrives as seller concessions have reached a record high in a buyer-leaning market, with 44.7% of home sales in August including a seller contribution, according to Redfin.

More than three-quarters of sellers, or 78%, in the Clever Real Estate survey made concessions averaging $9,914, adding yet another expense to an already costly transaction.

Selling without representation can be more expensive

Three-quarters of unrepresented sellers, or 75%, chose to forgo an agent in an attempt to save on commission. Even so, they paid an average of $10,920 in concessions, nearly $1,500 more than the $9,433 paid by sellers who used an agent. Their net commission savings came to just $1,136.

Kevin Odo, broker owner of Greenhaven Capital, told Mortgage Professional America that current market conditions are reducing much of the benefit sellers think they gain by going it alone.

“A more balanced market gives buyers more flexibility to maybe negotiate seller credits — seller credits can either help with their closing costs or help them get lower rates,” Odo said.

The regret figures back that up: 38% of unrepresented sellers later said they wished they had used an agent, compared with 22% of those who did.

Overall, 64% of sellers said they would consider hiring a low-commission realtor next time.

Even with the added costs, 80% of sellers still made a profit, averaging $191,304. But 39% said the return was lower than they expected because selling expenses ate into their equity.

With mortgage rates still elevated and home prices remaining high, affordability remains strained in the U.S. housing market, and smaller net proceeds could affect how much buyers can put down on their next home.

Kurt Strandson, president and CEO of Pinnacle Mortgage, pointed to inventory as the key missing piece in an earlier Mortgage Professional America interview.

“With a more normalized housing supply market with rates coming down, sellers are more likely to list because they’re now replacing with a lower rate than when they were in the 7%, 8% range,” he said.