What Does It Cost to Sell a House in Canada?

Commission is the biggest cost, by far

Real estate commission in Canada is negotiable — there's no fixed legal rate — but a common benchmark nationally runs around 4% to 5% of the sale price, split between the listing and buyer's agents. In BC and Alberta specifically, it's common to see a graduated structure instead: a higher rate, often around 7%, on the first $100,000 of the sale price, and a lower rate on the remainder. On top of whatever commission you negotiate, GST, HST, or QST applies depending on your province — an easy thing to forget when mentally estimating your net proceeds, since it adds a meaningful amount on top of the commission figure itself.

Costs sellers commonly forget

• Legal fees — your lawyer or notary's fee for handling the sale, typically a few hundred to just over a thousand dollars
• Mortgage discharge fee — a fee your lender charges to formally release their claim on the property, usually $200–$400
• Mortgage prepayment penalty — if you're breaking your mortgage before the end of its term, this can be the largest surprise cost of all; see the mortgage penalty calculator to estimate it separately
• Staging and minor repairs — optional, but common to get a home market-ready

None of these individually rival commission in size, but together they routinely add a few thousand dollars sellers don't account for when they mentally calculate "sale price minus mortgage balance" as their expected proceeds.

A worked example

That's roughly 5.9% of the sale price — right in the typical range. See your own net proceeds, including your mortgage payout, on the cost of selling calculator.

Selling to buy again? Run your numbers through the cost of selling calculator first, then see your new mortgage payment on the other side.