How Much Does It Cost to Sell a House in Ireland?

Selling a home in Ireland carries three unavoidable costs and a handful of smaller ones. The unavoidable three are the estate agent, the solicitor and the BER certificate. Everything else depends on the condition of your property and how much work you want to do before it goes on the market.

The important structural point: the agent fee is a percentage and everything else is broadly flat. That means the more valuable your property, the more the agent fee dominates your total cost, and the more a small difference in the percentage is worth to you.

Irish estate agents almost always charge a percentage of the final sale price rather than a flat fee. The going range is 1% to 2.5%, and VAT at 23% is added on top of whatever percentage you agree.

Where you land in that range depends mostly on three things. Dublin and the larger urban markets tend toward the lower end, because agents there do more volume and compete harder. Higher-value properties attract lower percentages, because 1% of €700,000 is already a substantial fee. And rural properties, or ones likely to take longer to sell, tend toward the upper end.

The single most important thing to understand is that this is negotiable. Estate agent commission in Ireland is not a fixed tariff. It is a quote, and quotes move when they are competing against other quotes. The difference between 1% and 2.5% on a €350,000 sale is €5,250 before VAT — more than most people spend on their solicitor, BER and outlay combined.

Ask each agent whether the percentage they quote includes VAT, and whether marketing costs — photography, brochures, portal listings, signage — are covered by the commission or billed separately. Those extras can add €500 to €1,000 and they are where quoted fees quietly diverge.

Every agent you deal with should be licensed by the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA). You can ask for their licence number, and it is reasonable to do so.

We cover the percentages county by county in our guide to comparing estate agent fees.

You cannot sell a property in Ireland without a solicitor. Conveyancing fees for a straightforward residential sale typically run €1,200 to €2,500 plus VAT and outlay. Some solicitors quote a flat fee, others a percentage of around 0.5% with a minimum. For most sales a flat fee works out cheaper, and it is easier to compare.

“Outlay” means the third-party costs your solicitor pays on your behalf and recovers from you: Land Registry searches, copy folios and maps, commissioner of oaths fees. Budget €150 to €400 on top of the professional fee.

Your solicitor’s job on a sale is to prove you own what you say you own. That means producing the title documents, answering the buyer’s requisitions, dealing with your lender if there is a mortgage to be redeemed, and handling the closing. Where costs escalate is where title is untidy — an unregistered property, a missing planning compliance certificate, an extension built without permission, or a property still in a deceased person’s name.

If any of those apply, tell the solicitor at the quoting stage rather than discovering it six weeks in. It changes the price, and it changes the timeline far more.

A Building Energy Rating certificate is legally required before you advertise a property for sale in Ireland. Not before you close — before you market it. The rating must appear in your advertising.

A BER assessment costs roughly €120 to €300 depending on the size and type of property and where you are in the country. The certificate is valid for ten years, so if the property was assessed within the last decade and nothing structural has changed, you may already have a valid one.

The assessor must be registered with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Your rating also has a commercial effect, not just a legal one: a poor rating narrows your buyer pool, because buyers using certain green mortgage products need a minimum rating to qualify.

These are the ones that turn a tidy budget into an unpleasant surprise.

Mortgage redemption and breakage fees. If you are on a fixed rate and you redeem early, your lender may charge a breakage fee. On a large balance with significant time left to run this can reach several thousand euro. Ring your lender and ask for a redemption figure before you commit to a sale timeline.

Getting the property ready. Decluttering, painting, gardening, minor repairs. Entirely optional and entirely worth it — but it is real money, usually a few hundred to a few thousand.

Planning compliance paperwork. If you extended, converted an attic or built anything, the buyer’s solicitor will want a certificate of compliance from an engineer or architect. That is typically €300 to €800, and it is one of the most common causes of a sale stalling.

Probate, if the owner has died. A property being sold from an estate cannot close until a Grant of Probate issues. That adds both legal cost and, more significantly, months to the timeline.

Management company fees. Selling an apartment or a property in a managed estate means the buyer will require up-to-date service charge accounts and a statement that you are not in arrears. Some management companies charge for the information pack.

Bridging or overlap costs. If you buy before you sell, you may carry two sets of costs for a period. That is not a selling cost as such, but it belongs in the same budget.

These assume a 1.5% agent fee — roughly mid-range — plus VAT, a €1,600 solicitor fee, a €200 BER and €250 of outlay.

Notice what happens as the price rises: the total percentage falls slightly, because the flat costs are spread over a larger sale — but the absolute agent fee doubles between €250,000 and €500,000. That is exactly why negotiating the percentage matters more the more your property is worth.

If you are selling your own home, usually not. Principal Private Residence relief exempts the gain on the property you have lived in as your main home for the full period of ownership, so most ordinary sellers pay no Capital Gains Tax.

You may have a CGT liability if the property was an investment or rental, a holiday home, land, or a home you only lived in for part of the time you owned it. In those cases the rate is 33% on the gain, with an annual personal exemption of €1,270. Inherited property has its own rules, and the base cost is generally the market value at the date of death rather than what the deceased originally paid.

You will also need a Local Property Tax clearance position — the buyer will require evidence that LPT is up to date, and arrears have to be cleared before closing.

This is general information, not tax advice. If any part of your situation is not a straightforward sale of your own home, talk to an accountant or your solicitor before you agree a sale.

Get three agent quotes, not one. This is the single highest-value thing you can do and it costs you nothing. Most sellers ring one agent, accept the number, and never find out what the other two would have charged. A half-point difference on a €350,000 sale is €1,750 before VAT.

Ask what the fee includes. Two agents quoting 1.5% are not necessarily quoting the same thing. One may include professional photography, floor plans, portal listings and signage; the other may bill those separately.

Agree the sole agency period. A shorter exclusive period gives you the option to move if things are not working. Twelve weeks is common; agents will often accept eight.

Get the solicitor quote in writing, all in. Ask for professional fee, VAT and estimated outlay as one number so you can compare like with like.

Sort your paperwork before you list. Title documents, planning compliance, BER, LPT, management company accounts. Every one of these found late costs more in delay than it does in fees.