When a move is on the table, the family home is often the largest financial asset in the picture, and the gap between the sale price and what actually lands in the bank surprises a lot of families.
What actually comes off the top
- Real estate commission — typically 5-6% of the sale price combined, though commission structures have been shifting industry-wide in recent years and are increasingly negotiable
- Closing costs — title work, escrow, and transfer taxes typically run 1-3% of the sale price
- Repairs or prep needed to sell — highly variable; a pre-listing inspection can surface issues before they become a buyer's negotiating point
A worked example
A home selling for $350,000 with $120,000 remaining on the mortgage: after roughly $19,250 in commission (5.5%) and $7,000 in closing costs (2%), estimated net proceeds land around $203,750 — nearly $150,000 less than the sale price itself.
Why this number matters so much
This net figure is usually what actually funds a move to assisted living, memory care, or a smaller home — not the sale price on the listing. Running the real math before a decision is made, not after the home is already listed, avoids planning around a number that was never accurate.
Want to run your own numbers? The Home Equity Calculator uses this same math with your actual sale price and mortgage balance.
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