Last updated October 13, 2026
Key Takeaways
Sellers tend to think net = sale price minus mortgage payoff, but commission, title, prorated taxes, concessions, and prep come out first. Worked examples in this article land at 10.2% on a $200K home and 9.9% on a $300K home.
On a $250,000 sale that's $12,500–$17,500; on a $400,000 sale, $20,000–$28,000. Sellers can still offer buyer-agent compensation — it's just negotiated separately now instead of published in the MLS.
In Missouri the seller typically pays for the owner's title insurance policy protecting the buyer. That range is separate from prorated property taxes.
I never recommend a concession as a way to generate a contract. Concessions belong in repair negotiations after the inspection, and in my experience homes that sell over asking rarely give one unless there’s a major repair.
Plan on roughly 8–11% of the sale price before your mortgage payoff when you count commission, title and closing costs, property-tax proration, a repair concession, and normal sale preparation. On a $200,000 sale, the worked example below totals $20,400, or 10.2%. Estimates of 7–9% may exclude costs such as repair concessions or preparing the house for market.
About $20,400 on a $200,000 sale (10.2%) and $29,600 on a $300,000 sale (9.9%), counting 6% commission, title and closing, prorated taxes, pre-listing prep and a repair concession. See the full worked example.
Most of them come out of your proceeds at closing, not out of your pocket: commission, title, prorated taxes and any repair concession are deducted from the sale price. Pre-listing prep, like cleaning or paint, is the exception, since you pay for it before you list.
The exact number depends on the commission negotiated, whether a repair concession is negotiated, the home’s condition and the closing date. The useful number is not just “fees” — it is what you will actually net after every line item.
None of these costs are negotiable in the sense that you can simply opt out of them. But knowing what they are -- and how to minimize them where possible -- makes the difference between a seller who is surprised at the closing table and one who planned for the actual number.
It helps to think of these not as random “fees” but as a stack of items that each come out of your proceeds before you net a dollar. For a St. Louis sale, that stack usually includes:
Missouri does not impose a statewide real-property transfer tax, which removes one seller cost found in some states. Local municipal inspection or occupancy requirements can still create property-specific costs.
Because every one of these comes out before your payoff, the number that actually matters is your net. Walk through your own figures with the net-proceeds calculator, compare a traditional sale against a cash offer, and see how repair costs affect your price before deciding what to fix.
Commission remains the largest cost of selling a home in St. Louis. After the NAR settlement that took effect in August 2024, the structure has changed somewhat -- but the reality for most sellers has not changed as dramatically as headlines suggested.
In practice, most St. Louis sellers are still paying 5% to 7% total commission, depending on price point, location, and the marketing strategy involved. On a $250,000 sale, that is $12,500 to $17,500. On a $400,000 sale, that is $20,000 to $28,000.
The 5% to 6% range is common on well-priced homes in active markets where the marketing and transaction management are relatively straightforward. The 6% to 7% range applies to properties requiring more marketing investment -- unique properties, higher price points, extended marketing periods, or situations with complex negotiations.
Pricing correctly reduces this cost. A home that sells in 10 days does not require the same marketing investment as one that sits for 90 days and requires repeated showings, price reductions, and broker outreach.
In Missouri, sellers typically pay for the owner's title insurance policy that protects the buyer. Seller-paid title and closing costs in St. Louis generally run $1,200 to $1,500 for a standard residential transaction, not including prorated property taxes.
This covers: owner's title insurance premium, settlement fee, document preparation, deed recording, and other standard closing charges. Attorney fees are not standard in Missouri residential transactions -- if an attorney is involved, that is an additional cost.
No. Missouri doesn’t charge one statewide. You’ll pay deed recording fees to the local Recorder of Deeds, and some cities have their own occupancy or point-of-sale inspection requirements.
Both parties pay closing costs in Missouri. Sellers typically pay the agent commission, owner's title insurance, and prorated taxes. Buyers pay lender fees, their portion of title costs, prepaid items like homeowner's insurance and property tax escrow, and any other loan-related costs.
Missouri property taxes are paid in arrears -- you pay in December for the current year. At closing, sellers credit the buyer for the portion of the year the seller owned the property. On a $250,000 St. Louis County home, annual property taxes typically run about $2,250 to $3,300, depending on municipality and school district: in 2026 sales across South, West and Central County, the median tax ran from about 0.90% to 1.32% of the sale price (property taxes by school district). If you close in July, you owe roughly half that amount as a proration credit to the buyer.
These vary widely based on the property's condition and the seller's strategy:
| Item | Typical Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Professional cleaning | $200 -- $500 | Almost always worth doing |
| Professional photography | $150 -- $350 | Included in most agent marketing packages |
| Light staging | $500 -- $2,000 | Furniture rearrangement, accessory updates |
| Full vacant staging | $2,000 -- $5,000 | For vacant homes; can significantly reduce DOM |
| Paint (interior) | $2,000 -- $5,000 | Full repaint; selective touch-up much less |
| Carpet replacement | $2,000 -- $5,000 | Depends on size and grade |
| Landscaping / curb appeal | $300 -- $1,500 | Mulch, cleanup, basic plantings |
Not everything needs fixing before you list. What not to repair before selling.
A seller concession is a credit at closing toward the buyer’s costs. You’re not required to offer one, and there are two very different kinds, which I treat differently.
A concession used to generate a contract — advertising closing-cost help to attract offers — is one I never recommend. It hides in the marketing description or the agent remarks and never reaches the buyer the way a price does. If the house isn’t drawing offers, the price is the lever.
A repair concession is appropriate. After the inspection, a credit toward a repair is often cleaner than doing the work before closing. In my experience, repair concessions typically land between $2,000 and $8,000 when they’re negotiated, and homes that sell over asking rarely give one unless there’s a major repair.
Some buyers, particularly first-time buyers using FHA or USDA financing, will ask for closing-cost help in their offer. That’s a negotiation over the net number, not a marketing tool. How to weigh that request →
| Cost | $200,000 Home | $300,000 Home |
|---|---|---|
| Commission (6%) | $12,000 | $18,000 |
| Title and closing | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Prorated taxes (est.) | $1,500 | $2,200 |
| Pre-listing prep (est.) | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Repair concession (est.) | $4,000 | $6,000 |
| Total costs | $20,400 (10.2%) | $29,600 (9.9%) |
| Net (no mortgage) | $179,600 | $270,400 |
Commission, buyer-agent compensation, how much prep you do and any repair concession are negotiable. The rest is essentially fixed:
No. Your payoff and any liens are money you already owe, paid from the proceeds at closing. They reduce the check you take home, but they aren’t a fee for selling.
It depends on the jurisdiction. In unincorporated St. Louis County, the new occupant applies for the occupancy permit after a sale, and an inspection fee accompanies the application. Some cities put it on the seller: in Sunset Hills the seller commonly applies before closing, and in Lakeshire the seller is instructed to request the inspection before closing. Crestwood doesn’t require one for an owner-occupied resale. See the rules by jurisdiction.
Yes, you can sell as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO). However, you may still offer buyer agent compensation to attract represented buyers, which is the majority of active buyers. According to NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the median FSBO home sold for $360,000, versus $425,000 for agent-assisted sales. Those aren’t identical houses, so read it as a gap, not a guarantee. The commission savings are often partially or fully offset by a lower sale price.
This is one piece of the St. Louis seller decision process. Keep comparing your options before you sign anything.
Back to Seller Guides →Considering selling without an agent? Before you decide, read the Missouri FSBO guide — what the process actually involves, and when it makes sense vs. when it costs you more than the commission you saved.
Considering FSBO or a flat fee listing? The flat fee MLS St. Louis guide breaks down exactly what you get, what you remain responsible for, and where sellers most commonly lose money on the transaction.
Grew up in South St. Louis, lived in Dogtown for 6 years, now in South County. You'll find us at Wellspring on Lindbergh on Sundays. I'm not selling you a house — I'm showing you how to think about buying or selling a house.