The $100,000 House That Nets You $76,000: Hidden Costs of Selling on the Market
Let’s talk about math that most sellers don’t see until closing day.
You list your house for $100,000. You think you’re walking away with $100,000. Maybe a bit less for some fees you’ve heard about.
You’re actually netting $76,500. On a good day.
And that’s if everything goes smoothly. Which it usually doesn’t.
The Math Nobody Shows You Upfront
Start with a house that sells for $100,000.
Agent commission takes 6-8% on average. Let’s use 8%. That’s $8,000 gone immediately. You’re down to $92,000.
Closing costs come next. Even if you split them with the buyer, you’re paying at least 2.5%. Another $2,500. Now you’re at $89,500.
Buyer concessions are next. Unless your house is absolutely perfect—and even if it is—buyers will ask for something. In August, 68% of properties that closed had concessions. Most deals include them.
Average concession amount? $10,000.
You’re down to $79,500.
Now add holding costs. Average time on market is 54 days, but that number is misleading. Realistically, your house will take 70-90 days to sell. Three months. If your mortgage is $1,000 per month, that’s another $3,000 in payments while you wait.
Final number: $76,500.
That’s what you actually get from your $100,000 house.
The “Lowball” Offer That Isn’t
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Someone offers you $70,000 cash. You look at that number and think it’s insulting. A lowball. You’re getting $100,000 from the market, not $70,000.
Except you’re not getting $100,000.
You’re getting $76,500. After three months of waiting, stress, and uncertainty.
The cash offer is $70,000. Right now. Guaranteed. Close in a week or two if you want.
The difference is $6,500. And three months of your life.
Is that $6,500 worth three months of showing your house, three months of mortgage payments already baked into the calculation, three months of wondering if the deal will actually close?
For most people in real situations, no.
But they reject the cash offer because they’re comparing $70,000 to $100,000. They should be comparing $70,000 to $76,500.
That’s the education gap that costs sellers thousands of dollars.
The 68% Concession Reality
Even perfect houses get hit with concession requests.
We see properties on the market right now in excellent condition. Move-in ready. Nothing wrong with them. Buyers still ask for concessions.
It’s part of the game. Buyers leverage inspection findings, market conditions, and their negotiating position to extract concessions from sellers.
Last August, 68% of closed properties included concessions. That’s not the exception. That’s standard.
Your house won’t be different. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve maintained it. Buyers will find something to negotiate over.
When we tell sellers to expect $10,000 in concessions, we’re not being pessimistic. We’re being realistic based on actual closing data.
Most sellers don’t know this until they’re in the middle of negotiations. By then, they’ve already turned down cash offers and committed to the listing route.
Time on Market: The 54-Day Lie
The official average time on market is 54 days.
That number is worthless.
It’s an average pulled from extreme outliers in both directions. Some properties are priced so well they sell in one day. Other properties are priced so badly they sit on the market for over 1,000 days.
Go on the Las Vegas MLS right now. Sort by newest listings, then scroll to the bottom. You’ll find three or four properties that have been listed for over 1,340 days. It happens.
Those extremes skew the average into meaninglessness.
For most sellers, the realistic timeline is 70-90 days. Three months.
That means three months of mortgage payments. Three months of utilities. Three months of maintenance. Three months of keeping your house show-ready. Three months of uncertainty about whether it’ll actually sell.
And if you have a time crunch? You’re probably not hitting your goals.
The Last-Minute Panic Call
This morning, we got a call from a seller in Henderson.
Listed the house. No showings. No interest. No offers. Now they need to leave in one week for a job relocation.
They thought they had plenty of time. They thought the house would sell quickly. They didn’t.
Now we’re helping them close in days instead of months. But they could have avoided the stress entirely by understanding their options earlier.
This happens constantly. Sellers assume listing is the default choice. They don’t run the actual numbers. They don’t consider realistic timelines. They don’t factor in the risk of deals falling through.
Then reality hits and they’re out of time.
What Agents Don’t Tell You
80% of what real estate professionals do—agents and cash buyers alike—is education. The other 20% is ancillary factors.
Good agents set realistic expectations. They walk you through the total cost breakdown. They explain concessions, holding costs, and realistic timelines. They help you calculate actual net proceeds, not just sale price.
Most agents don’t do this.
They focus on list price because it sounds better. They talk about market value without subtracting all the costs that eat into that value. They don’t prepare you for the concessions that will inevitably get requested.
That’s not malicious. It’s just a failure to educate.
But it leaves sellers shocked when they see their final proceeds at closing. “I thought I was getting more than this.”
You were never getting that much. You just weren’t shown the real math upfront.
Cash Certainty vs. Financing Uncertainty
When you accept a cash offer, you go under contract and you close. Near 100% certainty.
No financing contingency. No appraisal risk. No loan approval process that can fall apart. The deal happens as agreed.
Can you say the same about a financed buyer?
Not at all.
Unless your house is listed 30-40% below market value—which makes it basically a guaranteed sale but terrible financial decision—you have no certainty with traditional buyers.
They need loan approval. The bank needs to appraise the property. The appraisal needs to come in at the agreed price. The underwriter needs to approve everything. Each of these is a potential failure point.
And right now, with the largest inventory spike in over a decade, buyers have more optionality than they’ve had in years.
More optionality means more discernment. More discernment means more rejection.
Buyers can afford to be picky. They can walk away from deals that don’t meet their exact requirements. They have other options.
You’re competing against those options with zero guarantee your buyer will follow through.
The New Build Problem
Here’s what’s happening in the market right now.
You’re trying to sell your house for $380,000. It’s in decent shape but needs some updates. Maybe $25,000-$30,000 to make it really nice.
Down the street, there’s a new build for $380,000. Brand new. Everything perfect.
If you’re a buyer, which one are you choosing?
The new build. 100% of the time.
New builds and existing homes are priced almost identically right now. In some neighborhoods, new builds actually cost less.
If a buyer is paying $380,000, they want something nice. They don’t want to buy your house and immediately sink another $30,000 into updates just to make it comparable to the new construction option.
Your house sits on the market. The new build sells.
Same thing happens with flipped properties. Someone bought a house in your neighborhood, renovated it completely, and listed it for the same price as your dated property.
Buyers choose the updated option every time.
You can’t compete on price because you’re already at market value. You can’t compete on condition without spending tens of thousands on renovations. You’re stuck.
The Overpricing Death Spiral
We talked to a seller today about a property listed at $495,000.
We ran comps. Market value for that property is $470,000. There are new builds available in that neighborhood at similar prices.
Will that house sell at $495,000?
Not a chance.
But the seller is convinced it’s worth that much. Maybe they put money into it. Maybe they just love the house. Maybe their agent told them to test the market at that price.
It doesn’t matter. Buyers aren’t paying $25,000 over market value when they have other options.
That house will sit. And sit. And sit.
Every day it sits, it becomes less attractive to buyers. “Why hasn’t this sold? What’s wrong with it?”
The seller loses time, pays holding costs, and eventually either drops the price dramatically or takes it off the market.
All because they didn’t price it correctly from the start.
The DIY Renovation Trap
Some sellers hear all this and think: “I’ll just renovate it myself. Then I can get top dollar.”
That’s almost always a mistake.
Most people don’t have the budget to renovate properly. Even if they do, they pay more for materials and labor than professionals. You don’t have bulk relationships with suppliers. You don’t have crews on retainer.
You can cut corners to save money, but then you get an ugly result. And you still have trouble selling after you’ve sunk $20,000 into it.
Even if you do everything right, it takes time.
A professional renovation takes two weeks. The same renovation done by a homeowner takes two months.
During those two months, you’re paying mortgage, utilities, insurance. Those holding costs are part of your renovation cost basis. Add the actual renovation costs—labor and materials—and you’re easily at $30,000-$35,000.
Then you still need to list and sell the house. Which takes another 70-90 days.
You’ve spent $35,000 and four to five months trying to maximize your sale price. You’re exhausted. Your family is stressed. And you still might not get the premium you expected.
Living in a Construction Zone
Here’s what nobody tells you about DIY renovations.
Your home stops being your home. It becomes a construction site.
Loud. Messy. Noisy. Dust everywhere. Kids can’t play normally. You can’t relax. Every day is chaos.
If you’re doing serious work—redoing a kitchen, replacing flooring—your house might not be livable at all.
Now you need temporary housing. A short-term rental. You’re uprooting your family for weeks or a month.
Most people never factor this into their budget. “It’ll cost $20,000 to redo the kitchen and do some flooring.”
Then they start the work and realize they can’t live there. Suddenly they’re paying $2,000-$3,000 per month for temporary housing on top of the renovation costs.
The $20,000 project becomes a $30,000 project. Plus stress. Plus family disruption. Plus time.
And you still have to sell it after all of that.
The Pricing Mistake After Renovation
Let’s say you actually complete the renovation. It looks great. You’re proud of it.
Now you list the house. What price do you choose?
Most homeowners think: “I put all this work in. I should get top of market. Actually, $10,000 above market. My house is better.”
It’s ego. You value your own work more than the market does.
You list too high. Buyers look at your listing and skip it. There are other options at better prices.
You’ve just missed your best opportunity. The people who looked at your overpriced listing already moved on to other properties. They’re not coming back.
You’ve ruined your chance at future prospects because you overvalued your own improvements.
Eventually you drop the price. But by then, serious buyers have already bought other houses. You’re left with whoever is still searching, and they know your house has been sitting.
You lose time and money because you weren’t a market expert. You just thought you were.
When Professionals Do It Better
People who buy houses for a living can do a complete renovation in two weeks.
They do this daily. Multiple properties per month. They have crews ready. They have supplier relationships. They know exactly what buyers want and what updates actually add value.
They can get it done fast, get it done right, and get it sold.
You’re doing it for the first time in years. You’re figuring out contractors. You’re managing schedules. You’re living in the chaos. You’re guessing at what buyers want.
Even if you do everything perfectly, it takes you four times as long.
Why put yourself through that stress when you can hand it to someone who does this professionally?
The Stress Multiplication Factor
Selling a house is already stressful. Baseline stress level: call it a one on a scale.
That’s normal selling anxiety. Will it sell? What will I get? When can I move?
Now add DIY renovation to that.
Your stress immediately jumps to a five.
Managing contractors. Staying on budget. Living in construction mess. Uprooting family. Temporary housing logistics. Renovation timeline uncertainty. Then still needing to sell.
It’s not worth it for most people.
Let professionals handle the complexity. Your stress stays at baseline. You sell quickly. You move on with your life.
The “Know a Guy” Exception
There’s one exception to all of this.
If you legitimately know reliable contractors who give you good pricing, and you have time to manage the project, and you understand realistic timelines, and you’re prepared for living disruption—then maybe DIY makes sense.
That’s rare.
For most people, “I know a guy” means “I found someone on Nextdoor who seems nice.” That’s not the same as having real contractor relationships with proven track records.
Unless you’re truly connected and experienced, don’t do it yourself.
What Most Sellers Actually Need
Most sellers need three things.
They need to know their actual net proceeds. Not sale price. Not market value. The real number they’ll get after all deductions.
They need a realistic timeline. Not the 54-day average. The real 70-90 days, plus the time to prepare the house, plus the risk of deals falling through.
They need to understand their options. Listing isn’t the only choice. Cash offers exist. Sometimes they make more sense.
When sellers have complete information, they make better decisions.
When they only get partial information—”Your house is worth $X on the market”—they make expensive mistakes.
The Real Comparison
Don’t compare a cash offer to your list price.
Compare it to your actual net proceeds after agent commission, closing costs, buyer concessions, and holding costs.
Compare the certainty of closing to the uncertainty of buyer financing.
Compare closing in two weeks to waiting three months.
Compare the stress of a straightforward transaction to months of showings, negotiations, and wondering if it’ll actually happen.
When you compare accurately, cash offers often win. Even when they’re numerically lower than list prices.
Why This Information Matters Now
Most sellers don’t learn this math until they’re at the closing table.
They see the final settlement statement and realize all the deductions they didn’t anticipate. By then, it’s too late.
Or they’re three months into a listing that’s going nowhere, and they need to move for a job, and they’re panicking.
If you understand the real costs and timeline upfront, you can make informed choices about how to sell your house.
Sometimes listing makes sense. You have time. You want to test maximum market value. You’re comfortable with uncertainty.
Sometimes cash offers make sense. You have timeline pressure. You want certainty. You value simplicity.
But you can’t make that choice without understanding the real math on both sides.
The Education Gap Costs You Money
This entire problem is an education gap.
Sellers think sale price equals net proceeds. It doesn’t.
They think 54 days on market is realistic. It isn’t.
They think concessions are rare. They’re not.
They think cash offers are only for desperate situations. They’re wrong.
They think DIY renovations will net them more money. They usually don’t.
Every misconception costs money and time.
The solution is simple: understand the actual costs and timeline before choosing how to sell.
Run the real numbers. Factor in everything. Consider your circumstances.
Then make the choice that serves your situation best.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I actually net from selling my house on the market?
Start with sale price. Subtract 6-8% agent commission. Subtract 2.5% closing costs. Subtract $10,000 typical buyer concessions. Subtract holding costs (mortgage payments during 70-90 day sale period). On a $100,000 house, you net approximately $76,500. On a $400,000 house, subtract roughly 24% to 30% for all costs.
What percentage do real estate agents take in Las Vegas?
Agent commissions typically run 6-8% of the sale price on average. This covers both the listing agent and buyer’s agent. On a $300,000 house, that’s $18,000-$24,000. This is usually the largest single deduction from your sale price.
What are buyer concessions and how much should I expect to pay?
Buyer concessions are credits or repairs the seller provides to the buyer, typically discovered during inspection. Even on houses in excellent condition, buyers request concessions. In August, 68% of closed properties included concessions. Expect $5,000-$10,000 on average, sometimes more depending on property condition and inspection findings.
How long does it really take to sell a house in Las Vegas?
The published average is 54 days, but that’s misleading because it includes extremes (properties selling in one day and properties sitting 1,000+ days). Realistic expectation for most properties: 70-90 days from listing to close. Well-priced properties sell faster. Overpriced properties sit much longer. Factor in three months of holding costs.
Should I renovate my house before selling or sell as-is?
Most homeowners should sell as-is. DIY renovations typically cost $30,000-$35,000 when you factor in materials, labor, holding costs, and potential temporary housing. Professional renovations take two weeks; homeowner renovations take two months. You’ll overprice after renovation due to emotional attachment. Professionals can renovate faster and cheaper with better results.
How do cash offers compare to traditional listings financially?
Run the actual math. A $100,000 listing nets approximately $76,500 after all costs. A $70,000 cash offer puts $70,000 in your pocket with no deductions. The difference is $6,500 and three months of time. Cash offers often come within 10-15% of actual net proceeds from listings while providing certainty and speed.
What are holding costs and how do they affect my proceeds?
Holding costs are expenses you continue paying while your house is on the market: mortgage, utilities, insurance, maintenance, HOA fees. If your mortgage is $1,000/month and your house takes three months to sell, that’s $3,000 in holding costs that directly reduce your net proceeds. These costs aren’t usually factored into seller expectations but significantly impact final numbers.
Why do most closed sales include buyer concessions?
Buyers use inspection findings as negotiating leverage regardless of property condition. Current market conditions favor buyers due to increased inventory (largest spike in over a decade). More buyer optionality means more negotiating power. Even perfect houses receive concession requests. It’s standard practice, not the exception. 68% of August closings included concessions.
Is it worth doing renovations myself before selling?
Rarely. Most people lack the budget (costs easily reach $30,000-$35,000), time (takes 2 months vs. 2 weeks for professionals), and contractor relationships (you’ll pay retail pricing). Your house becomes unlivable during work, requiring temporary housing costs most don’t budget for. After renovating, you’ll likely overprice due to emotional attachment and miss your best selling window.
How much does temporary housing cost during renovations?
Short-term rentals typically run $2,000-$3,000 per month depending on size and location. Most homeowners never factor this into their renovation budget. If your renovation makes your house unlivable for 4-6 weeks, add $2,000-$4,500 to your total costs. This pushes the “I can do it for $20,000” project to $30,000+ quickly.
Key Takeaways
Sale price and net proceeds are very different numbers. On a $100,000 house sale, expect to net approximately $76,500 after agent commissions (6-8%), closing costs (2.5%), buyer concessions ($10,000), and holding costs ($3,000 for three months). Always calculate actual net proceeds, not just list price, when evaluating offers.
68% of closed properties include buyer concessions—even perfect houses. Concessions aren’t rare exceptions. They’re standard practice. Buyers leverage inspection findings and current market conditions to request repairs, credits, or price reductions. Budget $5,000-$10,000 minimum for concessions regardless of your home’s condition.
Realistic time to sell is 70-90 days, not the 54-day average. The published average includes extremes that skew the data meaningless. Plan for three months from listing to close. That’s three months of mortgage payments, utilities, and stress. Each month of holding costs directly reduces your net proceeds.
Cash offers often net similar amounts to listings with far less risk. A “lowball” $70,000 cash offer compared to a $100,000 listing isn’t as different as it appears. After all deductions, the listing nets $76,500. The cash offer nets $70,000 with certainty and no three-month wait. The real difference is $6,500 and guaranteed closing.
DIY renovations rarely deliver the expected return. Professional renovations take two weeks. Homeowner renovations take two months. Costs easily reach $30,000-$35,000 including materials, labor, holding costs, and temporary housing expenses. After completing renovations, homeowners typically overprice due to emotional attachment and miss serious buyers.
Current market conditions favor buyers, not sellers. The largest inventory spike in over a decade means buyers have more options. More optionality creates more discernment, which leads to more rejection. New builds are priced similarly to existing homes. Buyers choose move-in ready over dated properties every time, leaving unrenovated homes sitting on the market.
80% of real estate transactions should be education, but most agents don’t educate properly. Good agents set realistic expectations about net proceeds, timelines, and concessions. Most agents focus on list price instead of total cost breakdown. This education gap leaves sellers shocked at closing when they see actual proceeds are much lower than expected.
