It was very common a few years ago for Estate Agents and Auctioneers in Ireland to charge anywhere between 1% and 2.5% commission on the sale of a house.
There are now , in 2024 , a few more estate agents in Ireland offering fixed prices for the conveyancing of a house sale.
We have seen a few estate agents online in 2024 offering fixed rates for house sales varying from €999 plus VAT (€1299) ,€1299 plus VAT (€1598) and another at €2500 inc VAT .
Estate Agent Charges to Sell a House
A percentage fee example – : An estate agent charging 1.5% on a Dublin semi , valued at €450,000- would charge €6750 plus VAT which brings it to almost €8300.
If another agent is offering to sell the same house for a fixed price of €1600 inc VAT – that would be a saving of €6700.
The vast majority of houses for sale in Ireland are found on Daft.ie or Myhome.ie – so as long as your house is on those it should easily be found by potential buyers.
When a percentage fee is charged – the rate of commission charged by estate agents can sometimes vary depending on the value of the house.
An estate agent’s commission on a house below €500,000 might be 1.5 per cent – while a property worth a Million euros may be charged at a lower rate of 1.25 per cent or 1% by the same agent.
You should try to negotiate the agent’s fee downwards. Most auctioneers and estate agents have a minimum fee for low-priced properties – but I doubt if many set a maximum charge.
By using a percentage commission it means that the bigger the price the agent gets for your house – the bigger their fee. On a €250k house, a difference of €5k on the selling price means quite a lot to the seller – but to the estate agent, it would mean just an extra €75 euro commission. It might be more cost-effective for the agent to persuade the seller to sell it quickly at a lower price.
Many estate agents and auctioneers in Ireland also add extra charges to the sale commission. Many of these charges are payable even if the house does not sell.
Extra Charges
Extra charges can include : photographs, brochures, website listings, sale boards, newspaper advertising
These extras can soon mount up to as much as another €1,000. Some auctioneers and estate agents will ask for money upfront to cover advertising costs .
In the UK it is still common for estate agents to have “No Sale No Fee” arrangements – and they will still put your house on the web and in the newspapers.
Here in Ireland, the “no sale no fee” arrangement seems to be offered by a minority of estate agents.
Legal Fees When Selling a House
There will also be legal fees when selling a house.
Solicitor’s conveyancing fees for dealing with the sale of a house can range from €1000 to €2500 – depending on what part of the country you are in and how much competition there is in the area. (VAT has to be added to these fees).
The days of charging a percentage fee are hopefully numbered – and there are now a growing number of firms offering fixed price conveyancing. They usually add outlays to this figure.
Typical fixed-rate conveyancing prices we have seen range from €950 plus VAT (€1162) to as much as €2100 plus VAT (€2583) .
Some solicitors say they offer “fixed price” conveyancing – but they don’t show prices on their websites. They probably just mean that the price is fixed once they give you a quote and there won’t be any added extras.
More details here on Legal and Other Fees When Buying a House in Ireland
BER Costs
Before your house can even be put on the market, you will also need a Building Energy Rating Certificate (BER) which will cost between €150 – €300 .
Currency Exchange
Tip: If you are selling property in Ireland and moving abroad – OR moving to Ireland from another country and buying property, you should take a look at our page on getting the Best Money Transfer Exchange Rates . You could save hundreds of Euros by not doing the currency transfer through your bank.