A fixed fee, sometimes called a flat fee, is a set dollar amount you pay a real estate agent to sell your home, instead of commission worked out as a percentage of the sale price. It usually stays the same whatever your home sells for.

In October 2026, fixed fees published on agencies' own websites ranged from $3,995 to $10,500, though one can rise if your home sells for more than $800,000. Full-service packages, where the agent shows buyers through and negotiates, started at $7,990.

Some agencies charged nothing for their package until settlement, the day the sale completes and ownership passes to the buyer. Others took part of the fee up front. If your home doesn't sell, you may still owe that up-front part or your marketing costs.

A fixed fee saves more the higher your price. At an example commission of 2 per cent, a $10,500 fee costs less once your home sells for more than $525,000. What you'd really save depends on what the fee leaves out, such as marketing or work you do yourself.

How does a fixed fee work?

You agree the fee in the agency agreement, the contract you sign before the agent starts work. The agreement sets out what you'll pay, or how it's worked out, and the law in every state and territory requires it to be in writing.

"Fixed fee" can mean three different offers:

• A traditional agent who agrees a dollar fee. Commission is negotiable, and the regulators in Victoria and WA say it can be a fixed fee, so you can ask any agent to quote one.
• A fixed-fee agency. It advertises set packages. Its cheaper packages usually hand some work to you, such as showing buyers through the home.
• A sell-it-yourself package. You pay a flat fee to list your home online and run the sale yourself. That's not an agent selling for you. Our guide to the pros and cons of selling your home yourself covers it.

A fixed fee isn't the same as a low commission, which is still a percentage, just a smaller one. Our guide to low commission real estate covers that option. A fixed fee is also different from what some guides call a "fixed commission", which means a single percentage rate.

What does a fixed fee usually include?

Online listings and a signboard are usually included. Whether the agent runs inspections and negotiates, and whether photography is in, depends on the package. In the packages published in October 2026:

• Usually included: listing on realestate.com.au and Domain, and a signboard.
• Included in full-service packages: the agent runs inspections and open homes and negotiates with buyers.
• Sometimes included, sometimes extra: professional photography, floor plans, video, and premium upgrades on realestate.com.au or Domain listings.

Some packages include selling at auction, but if you plan one, check the format and whether the auctioneer's fee is extra. To compare with a commission quote, see what's included in agent fees.

None of the four agencies in the price table below says its fee covers conveyancing, the legal work of transferring ownership. You'll usually pay a conveyancer or solicitor (a settlement agent in WA) for it separately, whichever agent you use. Here's what a conveyancer costs.

When do you pay a fixed fee, and what if your home doesn't sell?

Two of the four agencies in the price table below charged nothing for the package until settlement, and nothing for it if the home didn't sell. The other two took part of the fee up front and the rest when the sale went through. That up-front part wasn't refundable once the package was ordered or the marketing had started.

Whoever you choose, your agreement decides when each part is due, so check the timing of every amount before you sign. These rules apply to any agent, fixed fee or commission:

• Marketing can be payable even if your home doesn't sell, unless you negotiate a "no sale, no fee" arrangement. Consumer Affairs Victoria and WA's Consumer Protection both say so.
• Advance payments for advertising are trust money in Victoria. Consumer Affairs Victoria says they must go into the agent's trust account, a separate account the agent must keep for clients' money, apart from their own funds. Commission the agent is already entitled to doesn't have to go there.
• Queensland limits what an agent keeps for expenses. The law says they can keep no more than you authorised, and no more than they actually spent.
• NSW agreements must warn you about some fees. If commission is payable even when a sale doesn't complete, the agreement must say so in a warning.
• A fee can be owed after the agreement ends. An agent may be paid if a buyer they introduced, or who negotiated with them, buys later. NSW, WA and Tasmania are among the states where this can apply. Whether it does depends on your agreement or, in Tasmania, the law.

So ask whether an up-front payment is a marketing budget held in trust or part of the agent's fee, and whether any of it is refundable. For how timing works with commission, see when a real estate agent receives commission.

How much do fixed-fee agents charge?

Published fixed fees ranged from $3,995 to $10,500 in October 2026, and one can rise for sales above $800,000. The price mostly follows how much of the work the agent does. These seven packages from four fixed-fee agencies were on the agencies' own price pages on 20 October 2026:

Is a fixed fee cheaper than commission?

It depends on your price. On a lower-priced home, commission can cost less.

Here's how two published fixed fees compare with commission at example rates of 2 and 2.5 per cent, assuming the same sale price either way and commission on the whole price. The rates are examples, not averages. For the rates agents charge, see our own averages by state and capital city in our guide to real estate agent fees.

The $10,500 fee costs less than 2 per cent commission above a $525,000 sale price, and less than 2.5 per cent above $420,000. Before you compare your own quotes, line up three things:

• Marketing. Commission usually doesn't include advertising, which is charged on top. The $10,500 fee includes its campaign, while the $6,900 one charges extra for photography.
• GST. Some quotes include it and some don't, so compare like with like. Queensland's agency agreement form asks for commission including GST.
• Your time. A cheaper package can mean you show buyers through or negotiate yourself.

For commission in your state, see our guides to average commission in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, or agent fees in WA.

Do fixed-fee agents get a lower price?

Studies overseas haven't found that fixed-fee sellers get lower prices. But they looked at cheaper, limited-service agents in other countries, and there's little Australian evidence. So it's worth asking each agent for their recent sales near you and their plan for your home, whatever they charge.

The usual worry is that an agent on a fixed fee has less reason to push your price up. Under commission, the agent does earn more from a higher price, though not much: at 2.5 per cent, an extra $10,000 earns them $250. Under a fixed fee, they usually earn nothing extra.

Between them, the overseas studies found prices were similar or higher, but a sale was less certain:

• In the US, a study of three markets from 2004 to 2006 found homes sold by flat-fee agents fetched similar prices to those sold by full-commission agents. In two of the markets, flat-fee listings took longer to sell and were less likely to sell at all (Levitt and Syverson, 2008).
• In the Netherlands, sellers who used low-fee online agents and showed buyers through themselves got higher prices and sold faster. But they were more likely to switch agents or not sell. The researchers' explanation is that more skilled sellers tend to choose these agents (Gautier, Siegmann and van Vuuren, 2023).

Commission doesn't perfectly line up an agent's interests with yours either. In a separate US study, homes owned by agents sold for about 3.7 per cent more than similar homes, and stayed on the market longer (Levitt and Syverson, 2008).

Who might a fixed fee suit?

A fixed fee could suit you if:

• Your home is likely to sell well above the break-even price, where the fee and commission cost the same (for the $10,500 fee against 2 per cent commission, that's $525,000). Well above it, commission would cost much more than the fee.
• You're happy to show buyers through or negotiate yourself, which the cheaper packages need.
• You'd rather know your selling cost in dollars before the campaign starts.

Commission could suit you better if your home is lower-priced, or if the agent you most want charges commission. None of this is official guidance. It follows from how each fee works.

Questions to ask before you sign

Whichever agent you're considering, these questions help you compare a fixed fee with commission:

• What exactly does the fee cover, and what costs extra?
• Who runs the inspections and open homes, and who negotiates with buyers?
• When is each part of the fee payable: up front, when a buyer signs or at settlement?
• What do I pay if the home doesn't sell, if I end the agreement, or if I change agents?
• Is any up-front payment held in your trust account, and is it refundable?
• Does the fee stay the same at every sale price, and does it include GST?
• How long does the agreement run, and can a fee be owed after it ends?
• Are you licensed to sell in my state?
• Would you sell my home for a fixed fee, and what would it be?

In 2019, consumer group CHOICE advised sellers not to pay an agent up front, and to pay only after the sale is completed. It also said sellers offered a low flat fee should check they'll still get a good price, and that the agent's focus isn't just a cheap, quick sale.

Frequently asked questions

Where these figures come from

The fees are from the price, package and terms pages of four real estate agencies, as they stood on 20 October 2026. We found no other agencies publishing a fixed dollar fee for selling a home on their own website. We left out sell-it-yourself packages, advisers who don't list your home, and agencies that have closed or don't publish a price.

The rules on agreements, marketing costs and trust money are from Consumer Affairs Victoria, WA's Consumer Protection, NSW Fair Trading and each state's agency laws, as they stood in October 2026.

The overseas evidence is from Levitt and Syverson (Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, 2008, and Review of Economics and Statistics, 2008) and Gautier, Siegmann and van Vuuren (Journal of Empirical Finance, 2023). CHOICE's advice is from its guide to selling your property (2019).