Flat-fee MLS in New York

What you save, and what you take on

On a $450,000 sale in New York, a 2.5% listing commission is $11,250. A flat-fee Multiple Listing Service (MLS) package typically runs a few hundred dollars. That difference, $10,800, is the entire financial case for selling this way.

In exchange you inherit the listing agent’s job. Pricing it right, getting decent photographs, writing the thing, answering the phone, standing in the kitchen every Saturday, and then negotiating a contract with someone who may do this for a living.

Whether that is a good trade depends on what your time is worth and whether haggling over a six-figure number sounds tolerable or awful. Both answers are legitimate.

What New York charges no matter who sells the house

New York State charges $2 per $500 of sale price, paid by the seller. Residential sales at $3M and above add a 0.25% supplemental tax. New York City layers its own RPTT on top, which is why the city option below changes this number so much.

In New York the buyer customarily pays for title insurance, so it does not appear in the seller's column. The seller does pay their own attorney.

New York closings customarily involve an attorney. Budget around $2,500 for a residential closing. This is not a cost you avoid by skipping the agent, and it is money well spent when you are handling the contract yourself.

Where in New York matters

Local transfer taxes can dwarf the state rate. These are the ones worth knowing about before you price the house:

• New York City: about 1.82% for the seller. NYC adds its Real Property Transfer Tax to the state's 0.4%. The RPTT is 1% on residential sales of $500,000 or less and 1.425% above that. This figure uses the higher tier. The mansion tax on sales of $1M and up is paid by the buyer, not you.