What it costs to sell a house in Texas

Two homes, one closing date (June 15, 2026), and every common deduction. Figures set by law are computed from the source. The rest are labeled placeholders: they keep the arithmetic honest, but your title company’s quote and your own contract replace them.

Your mortgage payoff comes out last. Your lender’s payoff statement gives the exact amount, including interest through the payoff date.

This is the largest line and the only large one without a fixed price. TREC’s resale contract, revised for July 2026, puts it plainly: brokerage compensation “is not set by law and is fully negotiable.”

Two things changed with the 2024 settlement involving the National Association of Realtors. Since August 17, 2024, offers to pay a buyer’s agent are no longer made through the MLS, and buyers sign a written agreement with their own agent before touring. Sellers can still agree to contribute toward the buyer’s agent, and the contract has a line for exactly that (Paragraph 12B).

For a sense of the market rather than a rule: in Clever Real Estate’s August 2026 survey of 434 agents, the reported average total was 5.46% nationally and 5.61% in Texas. That is what agents say they charge, which is a starting point for a conversation, not the end of one.

• Every point is real money. One percentage point is $3,500 on a $350,000 sale and $5,500 on $550,000.
• Compare what the fee buys: photography, pricing work, showing coverage, and who negotiates the repair list.
• Decide early whether you plan to offer anything toward a buyer’s agent, so it is a strategy and not a surprise in an offer.

Texas sets title insurance premiums at the state level, so every title company charges the same rate for the same policy. For a policy between $100,001 and $1,000,000, the Texas Department of Insurance formula is: subtract $100,000, multiply by 0.00494, round to the dollar, and add $780.

Who pays is up to the contract. TREC’s resale form has a box for seller’s or buyer’s expense, and in Dallas-Fort Worth the seller customarily pays for the owner’s policy. You can use any title company; an agent, lender or builder may recommend one, but the Department of Insurance is clear that the choice is yours.

Other closing fees are not set by the state, and TDI notes they can differ from company to company. By default the TREC contract splits the escrow fee in half between buyer and seller, and it assigns sellers a few smaller items: preparing the deed, tax certificates, and recording the release of your mortgage lien.

The survey

If you still have the survey from your purchase, the contract lets you hand it over with a T-47 affidavit or T-47.1 declaration stating nothing has changed. If the title company or the buyer’s lender will not accept it, the contract says who pays for a new one. A pool, fence or addition built since the old survey is the kind of change that makes this a real question.

Texas property taxes are paid in arrears. Bills go out in the fall and are due by January 31 of the following year, so when you sell in June, nobody has paid 2026 yet.

The contract handles this by prorating taxes through the closing date. You credit the buyer for your share of the year, and the buyer pays the whole bill when it arrives. In the example, a June 15 closing means 166 days of the year are yours: $7,000 × 166 ÷ 365 = $3,184.

It is less a cost than a bill you were going to pay anyway, but it comes out of your proceeds, and it is the line people forget when they do the math in their heads. If the final 2026 bill differs from the estimate used at closing, the contract says buyer and seller adjust once the statements are out.

If your lender escrows your taxes, federal rules require the servicer to return any escrow balance within 20 business days after the loan is paid off.

How rates and exemptions work where you live: property taxes in Tarrant, Parker and Johnson counties.

If your home is in a mandatory owners association, the buyer is entitled to a resale certificate, and Texas caps what the association may charge for it: $375 for the certificate and $75 for an update.

Who pays is negotiated in TREC’s HOA addendum. Transfer fees, deposits and reserves are paid by the buyer up to a dollar amount written into the addendum, and the seller pays anything above it. Regular dues are prorated through closing, the same way taxes are.

Condominiums are governed by a different chapter of the Property Code, so the numbers above do not apply to them.

Most negotiation after the buyer’s inspection happens during the option period. You can make repairs, offer a credit or a lower price, or decline. A credit toward the buyer’s closing costs counts as a seller cost too; the contract caps it at the amount written into Paragraph 12A(1)(b).

Then the payoff. The title company pays off your mortgage and any other lien, such as a home equity line, from your proceeds at closing. The contract puts releases of existing liens, including any prepayment penalty and recording fees, on the seller.

Who pays the owner’s title policy when you sell a house in Texas?

The contract decides. TREC’s resale contract has a box for seller’s or buyer’s expense, and in Dallas-Fort Worth the seller customarily pays. The premium itself is set by the Texas Department of Insurance, so it is the same at every title company: $2,015 on a $350,000 sale and $3,003 on a $550,000 sale at rates effective March 1, 2026.

Is real estate commission set by law in Texas?

No. TREC’s resale contract says brokerage compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable. Since August 17, 2024, offers to pay a buyer’s agent are no longer made through the MLS. In Clever Real Estate’s August 2026 agent survey, the reported average total was 5.46% nationally and 5.61% in Texas.

Why do sellers pay property taxes at closing in Texas?

Texas property taxes are billed in the fall and due by January 31 of the next year, so the current year is unpaid when most homes close. The contract prorates taxes through the closing date and the seller credits the buyer for the seller’s share. A June 15 closing is 166 days of the year, so a $7,000 bill means a $3,184 credit.

Do I need a new survey to sell my house in Texas?

Often not. If the title company and the buyer’s lender accept your existing survey with a T-47 affidavit or T-47.1 declaration, no new survey is needed. If they do not, the contract says who pays for a new one.