Cost to Sell a Home in Washington State: 2026 Breakdown

Most sellers ask me one question before anything else: “How much am I actually going to walk away with?” Not the sale price. The number after everything gets paid.

I do BPO work across east and south King County almost every day, pricing homes for banks and institutional clients. That work puts me in front of real closing statements constantly, and I can tell you the gap between what sellers expect to net and what they actually net is almost always caused by the same handful of costs. None of them are secret. Most sellers just never sat down and added them up.

Here’s the honest breakdown, King County numbers included, so you can run your own math before you decide anything.

The Big Four Costs, In Order of Size

Four costs make up almost all of what comes out of your proceeds at closing. Everything else is smaller line items. Here they are, biggest to smallest.

1. Real Estate Commission

This is the largest line item, almost every time. Washington’s average total commission sits around 5.9% right now, split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent, though that split is negotiable and varies deal to deal. On the Eastside specifically, a lot of full-service listing agents run 2.5% to 3% on their side.

On a $900,000 sale, a 5.5% total commission is $49,500. That’s real money. It’s also the single biggest reason your net check is smaller than your sale price. It buys you something, though: professional pricing, marketing, negotiation, and someone managing the transaction so an inspection issue or a lowball appraisal doesn’t blindside you. Real estate commission are and have always been negotiable and will vary from transaction to transaction.

2. Real Estate Excise Tax (REET)

Washington charges a graduated excise tax on every home sale, and King County adds its own local portion on top. Here is the state schedule for 2026:

King County adds a local REET of 0.50% on top of the state rate.

Run it on a $900,000 King County home: roughly 1.10% on the first $525,000 ($5,775) plus 1.28% on the remaining $375,000 ($4,800), for a state total near $10,575. Add the county’s 0.50% ($4,500) and you land around $15,075 in excise tax alone. Most sellers don’t plan for that number. They find out on the closing statement instead. For the full rate schedule and how it’s calculated, see Washington State Real Estate Excise Tax: Complete Guide for Sellers.

Washington’s REET is graduated. King County adds its own 0.50% on top of the state rate.

3. Title Insurance and Escrow Fees

Sellers in Washington typically pay for the owner’s title insurance policy, which protects the buyer against title defects. Escrow fees are usually split roughly in half between buyer and seller. Together these run a few thousand dollars on a typical King County sale, more on higher-priced homes since title insurance premiums scale with sale price.

Budget $2,500 to $5,000 for title and your share of escrow on a mid-range King County home. Your escrow company will give you exact numbers once you’re under contract. This range holds steady across most listings.

4. Buyer Concessions

This is the cost sellers underestimate the most, and it has become more common. Roughly 19% of recent King County sales included a seller concession, according to NWMLS data from this year. Most concessions land in the 1% to 3% range, and lenders generally cap them at 2% to 6% of the purchase price depending on loan type.

Agree to cover $10,000 to $20,000 in the buyer’s closing costs, or a rate buydown to get the deal done, and that comes straight out of your proceeds. It’s not a hidden fee. It’s a negotiated one. But it needs to be in your math from day one, not something you discover mid-negotiation. Buyers are budgeting their own closing costs at the same time. If you want to understand what they’re weighing against your ask, see Earnest Money in King County: How Much You Need in 2026.

Adding It Up: A Real Example

Here’s the full math on a $900,000 King County home, close to the current county median for single-family homes.

That 9.6% figure sits right in the middle of the 8% to 10% range most sellers should expect. Yours will move up or down depending on your commission rate, whether you offer a concession, and where your price lands in the excise tax brackets.

Knowing your real number before you list means no surprises at the closing table.

The Local Angle: South and East King County Specifics

Costs shift a little depending on where in King County you are selling.

In South King County cities like Kent, Auburn, Covington, and Maple Valley, home prices run below the county median, which keeps your excise tax bill lower in dollar terms even though the percentage stays close to the same. Sellers here also tend to see fewer aggressive concession requests right now, since inventory in the affordable price bands moves faster.

In East King County, Bellevue, Sammamish, and Issaquah sellers deal with higher price points. That pushes more of the sale into REET’s higher brackets once you cross $1,525,000. Sell above that threshold and your excise tax rate jumps from 1.28% to 2.75% on the portion above it. Run that difference through a calculator before you set your list price expectations.

I price homes across both sides of the county every week through my BPO work. The pattern holds. Sellers who know their real numbers going in negotiate from a position of confidence. Sellers who find out their net at the closing table are the ones who get blindsided. (Curious how that pricing work actually happens? Here’s how I price homes using BPO methodology.)

What This Means for You as a Seller

Before you list, do three things.

Run your own numbers using your actual expected sale price, not a rough guess. A $50,000 difference in price can shift which excise tax bracket you land in.

Ask your agent for a written net sheet before you sign a listing agreement. Any agent worth hiring will walk through commission, REET, title, and a realistic concession estimate with you up front, not after you get an offer.

Decide your concession tolerance before you are in a multiple-offer or slow-market negotiation. Knowing your floor ahead of time keeps you from making an emotional decision at the table.

Getting your home ready to list is its own cost and time decision. If you haven’t mapped that out yet, start with How to Prepare Your Home for Sale in King County.

Selling costs shift depending on where in King County you list. South King County sellers see a different picture than the Eastside.

FAQ