On a $1,500,000 sale in Orange County, a 5% commission comes to $75,000. That one line is bigger than every other cost of the sale put together, and it's the line with the most room to move.
The commission on a $1.5 million house
Most Orange County listings are still built around a 5% total commission. Half goes to the agent who lists the house and half to the agent who brings the buyer. Since the NAR settlement rules took effect in August 2024, the buyer's half is negotiated in the purchase contract and isn't published in the MLS. On most sales here the seller still ends up paying it.
At $1,500,000, that's $37,500 to the listing agent and the same again to the buyer's agent. Nobody sets that rate. Commission is negotiable, and it always has been.
Our fee at the same price
Our listing fee is $12,500 under a million dollars and $19,500 for each whole million of sale price. A $1,500,000 house has one whole million in it, so the fee is $19,500.
What you offer the buyer's agent is your decision. Most of our sellers offer 2%, which is $30,000 here. Add the fee and the total is $49,500, so you keep $25,500 more than you would at 5%.
Four prices, side by side
The fee changes only when the price crosses a whole million. Inside each million it stays put.
| Sale price | At 5% | Wise Choices | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000,000 | $50,000 | $39,500 $19,500 fee + 2% | $10,500 |
| $1,500,000 | $75,000 | $49,500 $19,500 fee + 2% | $25,500 |
| $2,000,000 | $100,000 | $79,000 $39,000 fee + 2% | $21,000 |
| $3,000,000 | $150,000 | $118,500 $58,500 fee + 2% | $31,500 |
Based on a total commission model of 5%. Savings vary by property and price. Commissions are always negotiable and are not set by law.
Going from one million to one and a half adds $25,000 to a 5% commission. Our fee is $19,500 at both prices.
At two million the fee steps up to $39,000, and at three million to $58,500. Each step is one more $19,500. The total with a 2% offer to the buyer's agent still comes in under a 5% commission at every price on the table.
The rest of the bill
Commission is the big line. The others scale with the price too, just more slowly. The county documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000, which is $1,650 at $1,500,000. Escrow and the owner's title policy both cost more on a bigger sale. Then there's the natural hazard report, HOA documents if there's an association, and whatever credits come out of the inspection.
We walked through every one of those lines on a $900,000 sale in what it really costs to sell a home in Orange County. The list is the same at this price. Get escrow and title quotes for your actual number, or ask for a seller's net sheet, which puts all of it on one page.
What changes at this price
A buyer spending a million and a half has usually seen a lot of houses, and they've seen them in good photographs. Presentation does more of the selling here. So does pricing off the right comps. A citywide median blends condos with estates, and at this price the closest sales on your street and in your tract tell you far more.
Several of the cities we sell in have a median sale near this price right now: Laguna Niguel, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Hills, Ladera Ranch and Irvine. Each city guide has the latest numbers and the neighborhoods buyers ask about.
The fee covers the same full service at every price, from the pricing work and the photography through the open houses, the negotiation and escrow. The whole list is on our sellers page, and the schedule at any price is on the flat fee page.
Before you sign with anyone, ask for a net sheet at your expected price. Compare the bottom lines side by side. That's what you'll take home.