Cost to sell a house in San Francisco, CA.
On a typical $405,000 San Francisco sale, total seller costs to list and close traditionally run about $33,545 roughly 8.3% of the sale price. Here's the line-item breakdown.
- Median DOM
- 24 days
- Median income
- $116,250
- Total transfer rate
- 0.79%
Trusted by sellers to get cash + terms offers
Trusted by sellers to get cash + terms offers
Privacy Secured | Advertising Disclosures
List with an agent
$405,000 sale price
- Agent commission (5.5%)$22,275
- State + local transfer tax (0.79%)$3,200
- Owner's title insurance (0.4%)$1,620
- Recording / settlement / attorney$1,200
- Pre-listing repairs (1%)$4,050
- Staging + photography$1,200
Time to close: typically 60-90 days from list to keys.
HomeInvestor cash offer
$315,900 offer (~78% of retail)
- Agent commission$0
- Transfer tax(Buyer pays)$0
- Title insurance(Buyer pays)$0
- Closing / attorney fees(Buyer pays)$0
- Repairs(As-is, buyer's problem)$0
- Staging / photography(Not needed)$0
Time to close: 7-21 days. No showings, no contingencies.
Net difference
Listing nets you more: $55,556
The trade is time, certainty and effort vs the last few percent of retail. If your house needs repairs or you can't wait 90 days, the cash path usually wins on the math too.
Attorney required?
Not required in California, but title companies handle most closings.
Transfer tax
California state documentary tax is $1.10/$1,000; many cities add their own.
Repair credits
On a traditional listing, post-inspection repair credits in San Francisco commonly cost sellers another $2-8k beyond the budget above.
San Francisco adds a local surtax
SF transfer tax — +0.68%
San Francisco's documentary transfer tax is tiered from 0.5% to 6% above $25M — typical SFR sales hit 0.68–0.75%.
Result: on a $405,000 sale, San Francisco's transfer tax line is $3,200 instead of $446 at the state baseline.
More in San Francisco
Everything we cover for San Francisco, CA.
City hub
We buy houses in San Francisco
Market snapshot, FAQs, local comps.
County
San Francisco County
Every city + court-filed situations.
Compare
Compare cash buyers in San Francisco
Opendoor, Offerpad, We Buy Ugly Houses.
Situations in San Francisco
Get a San Francisco cash offer no fees, no commissions.
Trusted by sellers to get cash + terms offers
Trusted by sellers to get cash + terms offers
Privacy Secured | Advertising Disclosures
Ready when you are
Get matched with a buyer — start in chat or with the quick form
Talk to Riley, our AI intake, or fill out the form. Either way you'll be matched with a pre-screened buyer in about 24 hours.
Chat with Riley — our AI intake
~2 minutes · matched within 24 hrs