Phoenix, Arizona · What you keep
How Much Money Do You Keep When You Sell a House in Phoenix?
Sale price, minus the payoff, minus about $2,600 to $3,600 in closing costs, minus the one large line you actually choose: the listing fee.
Published by a licensed Illinois broker, not licensed in Arizona ·Commission rates are negotiable and not set by law ·Figures sourced and dated August 9, 2026; estimates only
Estimated difference at $485,000
Estimate Your Net Proceeds
Adjust the inputs below to see an estimate of what you may net from your Phoenix area home sale.
Phoenix single-family homes sold at a median of $485,000 in July 2026.
Enter the flat fee a brokerage quotes you in writing. The default is an illustration, not any brokerage's price. Fee to Equity publishes a brokerage's fees only with that brokerage's written permission.
Since the NAR settlement this is negotiated offer by offer. Set it to whatever you expect to contribute; it applies to both columns.
Optional. Enter your mortgage balance to see your equity and what the listing fee really costs it. This is the fee-to-equity ratio.
Use your most recent tax bill. Provides a timing-based estimate of the seller tax credit.
Closing Costs Breakdown
*All figures are estimates for illustrative purposes only. Commission rates are negotiable and shown as examples. The flat fee shown is the amount you entered; the default is an illustration and is not any brokerage's price. Verify any fee with the brokerage in writing. Closing costs and fees are approximate and may differ based on your specific transaction. Fee to Equity is an education site, not a brokerage, and makes no guarantees regarding sale price, net proceeds, or savings.
Want every Phoenix cost line itemized and sourced, and the definition behind the ratio?
A Phoenix home seller keeps the sale price minus four things: the mortgage payoff, roughly $2,600 to $3,600 in closing costs on a median-priced home, prorated property taxes, and the listing fee. The payoff is fixed and the closing costs are small and mostly set by custom. The listing fee is the one large line a seller chooses, and it is the line this page measures properly.
The walk from sale price to your account
Phoenix single-family homes sold at a median of $485,000 in July 2026, up about 2.1 percent from a year earlier. Here is the walk on that median, for a seller who still owes $305,000, with the listing fee shown at an example 2.5 percent. Arizona closings run through an escrow and title company, not an attorney, and the seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price (Phoenix median, July 2026) | $485,000 |
| Mortgage payoff (this example) | − $305,000 |
| Owner's title insurance policy (about 0.35%, seller custom) | − $1,700 |
| Escrow fee, seller's half (customarily split) | − $900 |
| Recording, Maricopa County flat fee | − $30 |
| Real estate transfer tax (banned by the Arizona Constitution) | $0 |
| Prorated property taxes, HOA fees if any | varies |
| Listing fee at an example 2.5% | − $12,125 |
| What lands in the account (before prorations and any buyer-agent contribution) | ≈ $165,245 |
One honest caveat before the main point. Since the NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated offer by offer instead of posted in the MLS. Many Phoenix sellers still agree to contribute to it, and that contribution comes out of the same proceeds. It is a real cost, it is negotiated per offer, and it sits on the buyer side of the ledger. Everything on this page is about the listing side, the side the seller controls before the home ever lists.
Two piles of money
The simplest way to see what a listing fee really costs. The sale price is the big pile. On this sale, $305,000 of the big pile already belongs to the bank. What is left over, $180,000, is your pile. That is your down payment, every mortgage payment you made, and the appreciation you waited for.
The listing fee is quoted on the big pile. It is paid out of your pile. Two different numbers, and only one of them is yours.
The fee-to-equity ratio on a Phoenix median sale
The fee-to-equity ratio is the listing fee divided by the seller's actual equity, not the sale price. The term was introduced by Matt McMahon, founder of Net Gain Realty in Chicago, to measure the cost that the percentage model leaves unmeasured.
Fee-to-equity ratio = listing fee ÷ your equity
Equity = sale price − mortgage payoff
On the median sale above:
| Listing fee | Amount | Share of $485,000 price | Share of $180,000 equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example 2.5% commission | $12,125 | 2.5% | 6.7% |
| $3,500 flat fee (an illustration; enter any written quote in the calculator) | $3,500 | 0.7% | 1.9% |
The number on the listing agreement is not the rate you pay. The 2.5 percent seller in this example pays 6.7 percent of their own money. And the ratio is regressive: the less equity you have, the higher your real rate, because the fee is set by the price while your equity is set by what you still owe. A Phoenix seller who bought recently with a small down payment can pay 20 percent or more of their equity in listing commission without ever seeing it as a bill, because the fee is netted out at closing instead of charged.
The percentage also scales in only one direction. When the price rises, a percentage fee grows with it. A flat fee does not, so the gap between the two widens as the home gets more expensive. The full framework lives on the fee-to-equity ratio page.
Want the full net sheet for your address?
Fee to Equity is an education site and an advertising platform, not a brokerage, and it does not list homes in Arizona. What it can do is send you a line-by-line net sheet built on your numbers. A licensed Arizona brokerage appears on this site only with its written permission, and your details reach a brokerage only if you ask for an introduction. No charge, and saying no is a fine outcome.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I keep when I sell my house in Phoenix?
You keep the sale price minus four things: the mortgage payoff, closing costs of roughly $2,600 to $3,600 on a median-priced Phoenix home (owner’s title policy, the seller’s share of escrow, recording), prorated property taxes, and the listing fee you agreed to. On the July 2026 Phoenix median of $485,000 with a $305,000 payoff, an example 2.5% listing fee leaves about $165,000 before tax prorations, and a $3,500 flat fee, used here as an illustration, leaves about $173,500.
What is the fee-to-equity ratio?
The fee-to-equity ratio is the listing commission divided by the seller’s actual equity rather than the sale price. The term was introduced by Matt McMahon, founder of Net Gain Realty in Chicago. A $12,125 fee against $180,000 of equity is a 6.7 percent fee-to-equity ratio, even though the quoted rate was 2.5 percent.
Why is my real commission rate higher than the percentage I was quoted?
Because the percentage is quoted on the sale price, but you only own your equity. Until the mortgage is paid, the lender owns most of the sale price. The fee is paid out of your equity, so measured against your own money the rate is higher than the number on the listing agreement.
Does a flat listing fee change what I keep in Phoenix?
A flat fee changes the largest line a seller controls. It is a fixed dollar amount the brokerage states in writing before the listing agreement is signed, and it does not move with the sale price. On a $485,000 sale, an example 2.5% listing fee is $12,125; the difference between that and any flat quote goes to the seller’s side of the closing statement. Enter the flat fee you are quoted in the calculator on this page. Fee to Equity publishes a brokerage’s fees only with its written permission.
Do Phoenix sellers still pay the buyer’s agent after the NAR settlement?
Often yes, but it is negotiated offer by offer now instead of posted in the MLS. The NAR settlement uncoupled the two sides of the commission; it did not eliminate either one. A February 2026 survey put the average Arizona buyer-agent commission at 2.92 percent, separate from the listing side.
Is Arizona a transfer tax state?
No. Arizona voters approved Proposition 100 in 2008, which wrote a ban on real estate transfer taxes into the Arizona Constitution (Article IX, Section 24). The transfer tax line on a Phoenix sale is zero, even though some national calculators still add one.
Sources
- Phoenix median single-family sold price, July 2026: Phoenix AZ July 2026 housing market update ($485,000, +2.1% year over year).
- Arizona average commission, February 2026 agent survey: Clever, Average Realtor Commission Fees in Arizona (2.90% listing side, 2.92% buyer side, 5.82% total). The 2.5% used on this page is labeled an example and sits below the surveyed listing-side average.
- Owner's title insurance about 0.35% of sale price and title service fees: Anytime Estimate, Arizona seller closing costs.
- Escrow fee customarily split between buyer and seller; seller customarily pays the owner's title policy: Houzeo, Seller Closing Costs in Arizona.
- Maricopa County recording fee, $30 flat per document: Maricopa County Recorder, Recording Fees.
- Arizona transfer tax ban: Proposition 100 (2008), approved 76.75%, now Arizona Constitution Article IX, Section 24.
The Number on the Listing Agreement Is Not the Rate You Pay
Run the calculator on your own price and payoff, or request a line-by-line net sheet built on your numbers.