THE QUESTION EVERYONE ASKS (USUALLY TOO LATE)
Most sellers start by asking:
“What can I sell my home for?”
That’s fine.
But it’s not the real question.
The real question is:
“What do I actually walk away with?”
And from what I see, most sellers think they have a number in mind but it’s usually a rough estimate.
Not something they’ve actually broken down.
LETS WALK THROUGH IT
Using a real example around this week’s median price: $489,950
Here’s what typically comes out of that:
Agent commissions: often around 5–6%, depending on what’s negotiated
Closing costs (title, fees, taxes): roughly 1.5–2%
Buyer concessions: very common right now, often 1–3% depending on the deal
Mortgage payoff: completely specific to you
Before your loan is even factored in, you could be looking at:
Roughly $35K–$55K in selling costs
And every one of these numbers can shift depending on how the deal is structured.
WHERE THINGS USUALLY BREAK DOWN
From what I see, this is where things start to fall apart.
A seller has a number in their head.
But it hasn’t been fully calculated.
It hasn’t been pressure tested.
And sometimes, it hasn’t even been clearly communicated.
So now you’ve got:
A seller thinking one thing
An agent pricing another way
And a strategy that isn’t fully aligned
And that’s a problem.
Because if you and your agent aren’t working from the same real number…
How do you decide:
What price to list at?
What offer to accept?
Whether to give concessions or hold firm?
That’s where sellers lose control of the deal, not at closing, but at the beginning.
THE CONVERSATION YOU SHOULD BE HAVING
Before you list, you should have a net sheet in front of you.
Not a guess. Not a range in your head.
An actual breakdown.
And this isn’t something you need to figure out on your own.
Your agent should be walking you through it.
From what I see, this is where a lot of sellers hesitate.
They have a number in mind, but they don’t always say it out loud. Or they assume their agent is already factoring it in.
That creates a gap.
Because if your expectations and your agent’s strategy aren’t built around the same numbers, it becomes very hard to protect your equity once offers start coming in.
A good agent brings this up early and makes sure everyone is aligned before you ever go on the market.
If you’re not looking at multiple pricing scenarios and how each one affects your net, you’re guessing instead of knowing what you’ll actually walk away with.
WHAT I'D TELL A FRIEND
What I’d tell a friend is simple:
Don’t just have a number in your head.
Make sure it’s accurate. And make sure it’s shared.
Because in this market:
Buyers are negotiating again
Concessions are back
Homes aren’t all moving at the same speed
So the sellers who do best are the ones who understand their numbers upfront and build their strategy around them.
That’s how you protect your equity and stay in control from start to finish.
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