What Does It Really Cost to Sell a House in Ontario or Alberta?

If you are working out the cost to sell a house in Ontario or Alberta, the figure most people quote you is the commission. That is the biggest line, but it is not the whole bill. Between sales tax on the commission, legal fees, a mortgage penalty you may not know about and a survey requirement that only exists in Alberta, the gap between your sale price and the money that lands in your account is usually wider than sellers expect.

Here is the full list, with real numbers, so you can do the math on your own place before you commit to anything.

What the cost to sell a house in Ontario actually covers

Commission comes first. In Ontario most listings are written at 4 to 5 percent of the sale price, with 5 percent the most common figure, split between the listing brokerage and the brokerage that brings the buyer. It is negotiable, and some brokerages work on flat fees, but 5 percent is the number to plan around until you have something in writing that says otherwise.

Then HST goes on top. Ontario charges 13 percent HST on the commission, and that tax is almost never included in the rate you are quoted. On a $700,000 sale at 5 percent, commission is $35,000 and the HST on it is $4,550. The real cost of that line is $39,550, not $35,000.

That single detail is the most common surprise we hear about. People budget the percentage and forget the tax on the percentage.

How Alberta commission works differently

Alberta brokerages usually do not quote a flat percentage. The common structure is roughly 7 percent on the first $100,000 of the sale price and 3 percent on the balance, plus GST. Alberta has no provincial sales tax, so the commission only attracts 5 percent GST instead of Ontario 13 percent HST.

On a $500,000 Alberta sale that is $7,000 on the first $100,000 and $12,000 on the remaining $400,000, so $19,000 of commission, plus $950 of GST. Call it $19,950.

The tiered structure means the effective percentage drops as the price goes up, which is why the same rate card feels expensive on a $250,000 house in Red Deer and reasonable on a $900,000 house in Calgary. Run the arithmetic on your own price rather than assuming a flat percentage.

Legal fees, discharge costs and the small stuff

You need a lawyer in both provinces. In Ontario a straightforward residential sale usually runs $1,200 to $2,500 including disbursements. Alberta is similar, generally $1,000 to $2,000 and up depending on how complicated the title is. In Alberta, having a lawyer handle the land transfer and the delivery of proceeds is not optional.

Discharging your mortgage from title costs a couple hundred dollars on top, commonly $200 to $400. Add courier and document charges, usually under $200, and brokerage administration fees if your listing agreement has them.

None of these are large on their own. Together they often come to $2,000 to $3,500, which is real money on a modest sale.

The mortgage penalty that catches people

If you are breaking a mortgage to sell, there is a prepayment charge, and its size depends entirely on what kind of mortgage you have.

On a variable rate mortgage the penalty is normally three months of interest. That is predictable and usually manageable.

On a closed fixed rate mortgage the penalty is normally the greater of three months of interest or the interest rate differential, which compares your rate against what the lender would charge today for a similar remaining term. When rates have dropped since you signed, an interest rate differential penalty can run several times three months of interest, and five figure penalties are not rare.

There is no single formula for this in Canada. Lenders calculate it differently, and federally regulated lenders are required to disclose how they do it. One useful protection sits in the Interest Act: on a mortgage with a term longer than five years, once five years have passed you can prepay with the penalty capped at three months of interest.

Call your lender and ask for the exact payout figure as of your likely closing date. Not an estimate from an online calculator. The real number, in writing. We ask sellers for this early, because it changes what a sale is actually worth to them, and how we buy houses is built around giving you a number you can compare properly.

Alberta Real Property Reports are a cost Ontario sellers never see

This one surprises people who have moved between the two provinces. The standard Alberta purchase contract puts the seller on the hook for providing a current Real Property Report with a municipal compliance stamp. It is a surveyor drawing of your lot showing where the buildings, decks, fences and sheds actually sit, stamped by the municipality to confirm they comply with setbacks and permits.

A new Real Property Report in Calgary typically costs $700 to $1,200. The compliance stamp is separate, currently about $199 in Calgary and around $150 in Edmonton. It also takes time. Surveyors generally need five to ten business days for the field work and the report, then the city takes roughly another week to review and issue the certificate.

If your report is old, or if a previous owner put in a deck or a garage that was never permitted, this is where a sale stalls. Ontario has no equivalent requirement.

Adjustments, and the money you spend before you list

At closing your lawyer prorates property taxes, and utilities or condo fees, to the closing date. If you prepaid your taxes for the year you get credited back. If you are behind, it comes off your proceeds.

The costs before listing are the ones nobody tracks. Paint, cleaning, landscaping, a pre listing inspection, staging, storage, and then the carrying cost of every month the house sits on the market while you keep paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance and heat. Two extra months of carrying a $700,000 house with a mortgage on it is often $5,000 or more that never shows up on any closing statement.

What the total actually looks like

Ontario sellers should plan on roughly 4 to 7 percent of the sale price in total selling costs. In Alberta the usual guidance is 6 to 10 percent, mostly because the commission structure weighs more heavily on lower prices and because of the Real Property Report.

On a $700,000 Ontario sale: $39,550 of commission with HST, $2,000 legal, $300 to discharge the mortgage, and call it $500 in small charges. That is about $42,350 before you count repairs, staging or carrying costs, and before any mortgage penalty.

What a cash sale changes, and what it does not

Being straight about this: a direct cash offer is lower than a retail listing price. What it removes is most of the cost list above. No commission, no HST or GST on commission, no staging or repairs, no months of carrying costs, and in Alberta we deal with the Real Property Report situation ourselves. You still pay your own lawyer and you still pay off your mortgage, penalty included.

Whether that math works for you depends on your house and your timeline. A tidy house in a strong neighbourhood, with time to wait, usually nets more on the open market. A house that needs $40,000 of work, or an estate you are carrying from another city, often does not. Our FAQ covers what sellers ask us most, and the reviews page shows how past sales have gone.

If you want to compare the two properly, get both numbers. Ask an agent for a realistic net sheet, then get a cash offer from us, and put them side by side. We will give you a figure with no obligation, and if listing is clearly better for you we will say so. Contact us if you would rather just talk it through first, or call (226) 988-9380.

This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Commission structures, tax rates and mortgage penalties vary and change, so confirm your own numbers with your lawyer, your lender and an accountant.

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