The short answer
Plan on eight to ten percent of the sale price all in: agent commissions of roughly five to six percent where the seller pays both sides, one to three percent in seller closing costs (title, escrow, transfer tax, prorations), and the repairs, staging and concessions negotiated along the way, all deducted from the proceeds at closing.
Sellers rarely write a cheque; the costs are deducted from the sale price on the settlement statement, which is why they are underestimated. A $500,000 sale that nets $455,000 has not gone wrong. It has gone normally. Here is where the $45,000 went.
Commissions
Historically the seller paid five to six percent, split between the listing agent and the buyer's agent. Since the 2024 settlement, buyers negotiate their own agent's fee and sellers decide whether to offer a concession toward it; in practice many still do, because a buyer who has to pay their own agent has less to pay for the house. Listing-side fees of two to three percent are typical and negotiable, and discount and flat-fee models exist for sellers who want to do more of the work.
Closing costs on the seller's side
Owner's title insurance for the buyer is customarily paid by the seller in Nevada and much of the west, about $1,000 to $2,500 on a typical home. Escrow fees are split. Nevada's real property transfer tax is $2.55 per $500 of value in Clark County ($5.10 per $1,000, or $2,550 on a $500,000 sale; $1.95 per $500 in most other counties), and it is the seller's by custom. Add the HOA's transfer and resale-package fees, prorated property tax and HOA dues to the closing date, a recording fee, and the payoff of the mortgage with interest to the funding date. Together, one to three percent.
The costs that are not on the statement
Repairs before listing and repairs conceded after the inspection; a credit of a few thousand dollars at inspection is normal. Staging and photography, a few hundred to a few thousand. The mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities for the months the home is on the market and in escrow. And a seller concession toward the buyer's closing costs, which is a price cut by another name and shows up as one on the settlement statement.
The number that matters is net proceeds: price minus everything above minus the mortgage payoff. The score report estimates it for a Las Vegas home from what comparable homes actually closed at.
Questions people ask
Who pays closing costs when selling a house?
Both sides pay their own, and custom sets which is which. In Nevada the seller customarily pays the transfer tax and the buyer's owner's title policy, the buyer pays the lender's costs, and escrow fees are split. Everything is negotiable in the contract.
How much do you lose when you sell a house?
Eight to ten percent of the price in costs is the usual total, so a home has to have appreciated by about that much for a sale to break even against the purchase, before counting the mortgage paid down.
Are seller closing costs tax deductible?
Not as a deduction, but commissions and most closing costs reduce the gain on the sale for capital gains purposes, and up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 married) is excluded on a home you lived in for two of the last five years. Not tax advice; a preparer can confirm what applies to you.