Costs of Selling a House in Tacoma

A Seller’s Breakdown

It is important to know the costs of selling a house in Tacoma before actually doing it! Before you start packing up that Beanie Baby collection let’s get down to brass tacks. There is nothing worse than surprise expenses, right?

Below, you’ll find a Tacoma-specific breakdown of what it typically costs to sell your home:

COMMISSIONS

Listing Office

If you plan to use a pro to market your home and guide you through the process (recommended) there will be a listing fee to that brokerage. This fee is and always has been negotiable and varies by brokers. There is no such thing as a fixed price for this. We commonly charge 2.5% for the listing side but there are situations where that can vary up or down for us. There are agents who advertise lower (and higher) commissions. It is important to consider what kind of experience, marketing and skill in communication the Broker brings to the table in deciding whom to hire. The best Realtors in Tacoma will net you more than the less experienced alternatives. Great marketing, communication and transactional experience are the three main drivers of a great outcome.

Buyer Broker

But wait, there is frequently another broker involved. Buyer’s and their agents MUST be under contract spelling out that the buyer pays the commission if the seller is not offering one. By not offering a commission to the buyer’s broker you may cut out some buyers who do not have extra cash on hand on top of their down payment and closing costs. Therefore many sellers do offer a commission to the buyer brokerage community, even though it is not required. Doing so is something that our team recommends as a best practice. It is a good investment. For purposes of discussion, the “selling office commission” that we might recommend is 2.5%, again depending on the situation, but what is offered does vary and some listings actually invite the buyer’s agent to write-in their requested commission in the offer so that it can be evaluated as a whole. We prefer the clarity of offering a specific amount. If the buyer is confident they can afford the house and their Realtor is confident there won’t be a snag on compensation you are likely to maximize showings and the pool of potential buyers.

So let’s call this line-item 5% with the (slightly repetitive) caveat that this item is negotiable and varies!

EXCISE TAX

Washington State does not have income tax but they do have an excise tax on real estate sales, paid by sellers. The real estate excise tax (REET) is a tiered system based on your sale price. For most Tacoma homes, expect to pay about 1.6%–1.78% of the sale price. On a $600,000 home, that’s roughly $9,600–$10,680. You don’t have to calculate this in your head. We will provide you with an estimated cost sheet before listing if you would like to see that ahead of time, and the escrow company will figure and pay the tax out of proceeds.

TITLE & ESCROW FEES

These are the folks who make sure the paperwork is correct and that nobody’s long-lost uncle tries to claim your backyard. Title insurance and escrow fees in Tacoma typically run approximately half of one percent.

PROPERTY TAXES

The escrow company will also figure the taxes and prorate to the day of closing, with seller paying everything before and buyer paying the remainder of the year. Depending on how paid up the taxes are, this will either result in a credit or a debit on the settlement statement. You may not need to worry too much about this one if you pay your taxes through your mortgage company (very common). Sure, there might be a line item to pay at the time of closing, but you will be reimbursed after closing by the mortgage company who is holding funds collected with your monthly payments.

MORTGAGE PAYOFF

If you still owe on your mortgage, the balance will be paid off from your sale proceeds.

REPAIRS & STAGING

You probably should budget something to make repairs and ready the house for sale, perhaps even discussing staging with your Realtor. This one is super hard to estimate because it depends on the condition of your house! A typical professional home staging around here costs about $3000. Some real estate brokers participate in this expense, so it is always good have the conversation.

If you would like a simplified way to ballpark your closing costs, 7.5% to 8.5% will work for estimating. Or better yet, have a real estate broker you trust in Tacoma run an estimated proceeds calculation for you! We do that all the time for sellers. Selling a home in Tacoma isn’t free, but with the right guidance, your net proceeds will be cause for celebration.