Seller Economics
What selling actually costs.
Every fee on the settlement statement, explained in plain terms. And then the cost that never appears on it, which is larger than all of them combined and entirely avoidable.
The costs you plan for
- Commissions, which are negotiable. Always. No law and no MLS sets a rate. The amount is agreed in writing in the listing agreement before anything happens, and what you offer a buyer’s agent, if anything, is a separate written decision you make. In a consultation I put every number on one page before you sign anything.
- Title, escrow and transfer costs. Title insurance, escrow fees and recording, typically around one percent combined in Maricopa County, split by custom between the parties in the purchase contract.
- Preparation. Repairs, paint, landscaping and staging. This is the spend that varies most, and the place where strategy matters: the right preparation returns its cost, and the wrong preparation is a donation to the next owner.
- Prorations and payoffs. Property taxes and HOA dues through the closing date, plus your loan payoff. Not costs of selling so much as settling of accounts, but they belong on the net sheet.
The cost nobody itemizes: overpricing.
Across 4,786 Scottsdale, 469 Arcadia and 359 Paradise Valley single family closings over thirteen months, roughly four in ten sellers cut their price before selling. Here is what that decision cost them, from the closed record:
The gap runs eight to eleven percent of the original asking price, plus roughly three extra months on the market. On a median Scottsdale house that is close to $100,000. On a median Paradise Valley home it can pass $400,000. No fee on the settlement statement approaches either number, which is why the pricing conversation matters more than the commission conversation, and why mine starts from closed sales in your pocket rather than from a number that feels good.
The same record shows what pricing correctly buys: 96 to 98 percent of original ask, and a sale in about a month. The Glenrosa case study shows the whole approach on one real sale, numbers included.
How this was put together
- Source. ARMLS, closed sales July 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026. Pulled 2026-08-15.
- Houses only. Single family closed sales only, same basis as every report on this site.
- Method. Each closed sale's final list price is compared with its original list price. A sale whose price was reduced before it sold is counted as a cut. Percent of original ask is the sold price against the ORIGINAL list price, which is the number sellers actually planned around.
Want the numbers for your house?
A pricing consultation with a written net sheet: what your home should list for based on closed sales in your pocket, and what you would actually keep at that price. Complimentary, and there is no obligation to list.
Anne Sostman · The Brokery · Arizona License SA718853000