How Much Does It Cost to Sell a House in Texas? The Real Number (2026)

The sale price is not the number that matters. The number that matters is what's left after everyone else is paid.

Most sellers know commissions come out. Fewer have added up the title policy, the escrow fee, the survey, the HOA transfer, the tax proration, and the repair credit the buyer will ask for - and then subtracted what they still owe the bank. The gap between “my house sold for $500K” and “this is my check” surprises people at the closing table every week.

Here is the whole thing, line by line, for a Texas sale - so nothing on the closing statement is new to you.

The Headline: 8-10%

For most North Texas sales, total selling costs land at roughly 8-10% of the sale price, before your mortgage payoff. That's the number to plan around. Below is what makes it up and where it can move - up if there are concessions and prep, down if you owe little and the buyer asks for nothing.

Real Estate Commission

The largest single cost, typically 5-6% of the sale pricein total. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, how that's structured and split is more openly negotiable than it used to be - buyer-side compensation in particular is now an explicit conversation rather than an assumption. Treat the number as a starting point to discuss, not a fixed fee, and understand what the listing side actually does for it: pricing, marketing, showing management, negotiation, and steering the contract to close.

The Owner's Title Policy

This is the Texas line item out-of-state sellers forget. By longstanding custom here, the seller pays for the owner's title policy - the insurance that guarantees the buyer receives clear title - on a premium set by the state and running around 1% of the sale price. It's negotiable in the contract, but seller-paid is the default across most of Texas. The buyer usually pays separately for their own lender's title policy.

One piece of good news to bank against it: Texas has no real estate transfer tax, a category that costs sellers thousands in many other states. It simply doesn't exist here.

The Other Closing Line Items

Individually small, collectively real. On a typical North Texas closing statement you'll see some or all of:

• Escrow / closing fee to the title company for handling the closing - a few hundred dollars, often split.
• Survey if you don't have an existing one the buyer's lender and title company will accept - a few hundred dollars.
• HOA transfer and resale-certificate fees if you're in an HOA. These are set by the association's management company and can range from modest to a few hundred dollars or more.
• Prorated property taxes through your closing date. Texas has high property taxes and collects them in arrears, so you owe your share for the days you owned the home this year - settled at closing, not billed later.
• Recording and miscellaneous fees - documentary and administrative costs, generally minor.

Prep, Repairs, and Concessions

These are the variable, and often the most negotiable, part of the total - and they're where a soft market shows up on your bottom line.

• Pre-listing prep: paint, deep clean, landscaping, minor repairs, staging - commonly $500-$5,000. This is money that usually pays for itself in a higher sale price and a faster sale; the returns are covered in the North Texas seller's playbook, and you can pressure-test any bigger project in the renovation ROI calculator.
• Repair credits after inspection: the buyer's inspection usually surfaces items, and you'll often negotiate a credit rather than do the work. Budget for this - it's the norm, not the exception.
• Buyer concessions: in a slower market, buyers ask for help with their closing costs or a rate buydown. This comes straight off your net, and it's the line that swings most with market conditions.

Your Mortgage Payoff

Not a “cost” in the fee sense, but it's the biggest thing between the sale price and your check, and it's the one sellers most often mis-estimate. Your payoff is the current loan balance plus any accrued interest through the closing date - usually a bit more than last month's statement balance. Ask your lender for an official payoff quote good through your expected closing; don't eyeball it from the app.

A $500K Example, Line by Line

Roughly what it looks like on a $500,000 North Texas sale. Your numbers will differ - this is the shape, not a quote.

That's the whole point of running it early: the equity you feel you have and the check you actually receive are two different numbers, and the difference is knowable before you list. Put your own figures in the calculator, then have an agent sharpen them against your real payoff, HOA, and comps.