What it costs to sell a house in Michigan
There is no single percentage that answers this, and anyone quoting you one is averaging over houses that have nothing to do with yours. What there is, is a short list of categories. Some apply to every Michigan sale, some depend on your house, and one of them is the part you choose.
The costs that apply to essentially every sale
Real estate transfer tax
Michigan charges two transfer taxes on the same sale and the seller customarily pays both. The state rate is $3.75 per $500 of value and the county rate is $0.55 per $500, so $4.30 per $500 combined. It is charged on each $500 or fraction of $500, not as a straight percentage, which is why the figure is not simply 0.86% of your price. On a $300,000 sale it comes to $2,580. The full explanation, with a calculator.
Title and closing costs
A Michigan seller customarily provides the owner's title insurance policy, and there are settlement charges from whoever closes the transaction. These are quoted by the title company, not by a brokerage, and they vary with sale price and with the company. Your title company will give you a figure; treat any number on a website, including ours, as an estimate until they do.
Recording the deed
A flat $30 per document, set by state statute and the same in every Michigan county. It has been $30 since October 2016, so if you see the old per-page structure quoted anywhere, it is out of date.
Your mortgage payoff
Not a cost of selling so much as the largest single number in the transaction. The payoff is what your lender requires to release the lien, and it is not the same as your current balance: it includes interest to the payoff date and any fees your lender charges. Request the payoff figure from your lender rather than reading the balance off an app.
The cost you choose
Listing-side brokerage cost is the part of this list you have any control over, and it is the reason the total varies so much between two identical houses.
A percentage listing charges a share of your sale price. A flat fee listing charges a set amount. Ours are $599, $799 plus 0.5% at closing and $1,199 plus 1% at closing, minimum $2,500, so what you pay to start is the same whatever your home sells for. What each package includes.
Brokerage compensation is not set by law and is negotiable, whichever brokerage you use. Comparisons elsewhere on this site assume a 3% listing side purely as an illustration for arithmetic; it is not a rate anyone is required to charge and it is not a quote.
The cost that is genuinely optional
What you offer a buyer's agent, if anything, is negotiated as part of the purchase agreement. It is not mandatory, it is not set by law, and since August 2024 it cannot be advertised through the MLS. Many sellers do offer something, because most buyers come represented and an offer that covers their agent is simpler for them to make. But it is a decision, not a line item that arrives automatically, and this page does not assume you will pay it.
Costs that depend on your house and your city
Municipal requirements
Some Michigan cities require an inspection or a certificate before a sale can close, and those carry a fee and sometimes repair work. Dearborn is the clearest example in our area. Many other municipalities have no such requirement at all. This is genuinely local, so check your own city rather than assuming your neighbour's answer. Cities and townships we cover.
Repairs and the inspection response
Unpredictable by nature. What a buyer asks for after their inspection, and what you agree to, is negotiated. Budgeting nothing here is optimistic; budgeting a fixed percentage is guesswork.
Preparing the house
Cleaning, decluttering, paint, landscaping, photography. Entirely discretionary, and the return on each varies. What tends to be worth doing.
Prorated property taxes and utilities
Settled at closing between you and the buyer according to the purchase agreement. This moves money in either direction depending on what has already been paid.
One thing that is not your cost, but you will be asked about it
Buyers frequently assume they will inherit your property tax bill. They will not. Under Proposal A, a transfer of ownership causes the taxable value to uncap in the calendar year following the sale, and it resets toward assessed value. Your own taxes do not change because you sold; the buyer's bill in the following year is the one that moves.
How much it moves depends entirely on the gap between taxable and assessed value on that particular parcel, so no honest figure can be given in the abstract. Certain transfers, including some between family members, are exempt. It is worth knowing about because it comes up in negotiation, not because it costs you anything.
Working out your actual number
The categories above are the shape of the answer. The number is specific to your sale price, your mortgage payoff, your title company and the package you choose, which is what the calculators are for.
The proceeds calculator takes your sale price, payoff and costs and tells you what you would walk away with. The transfer tax calculator does the per-$500 arithmetic exactly, including the rounding that makes it not quite a flat percentage.
Neither asks for contact details.
Common questions
What percentage does it cost to sell a house in Michigan?
There is no fixed percentage. Transfer tax is close to a fixed rate at $4.30 per $500, but title costs vary by company, municipal requirements vary by city, brokerage compensation is negotiable, and what you offer a buyer's agent is a decision rather than a rate. A single headline percentage hides all of that.
Who pays the transfer tax in Michigan?
The seller customarily pays both the state and county transfer tax.
Do I have to pay the buyer's agent?
No. It is negotiated as part of the purchase agreement and cannot be advertised in the MLS. Many sellers offer something; it is not required.
Can I reduce what it costs to sell?
The listing-side brokerage cost is the part that is genuinely variable. Transfer tax, recording and your payoff are what they are.