The Rising Cost of Listing Property in Australia: Where Does Your Money Go?

If you have sold a property in Australia recently — or spoken to someone who has — you have probably heard about the marketing costs. Before a single buyer walks through the door, sellers are often asked to commit thousands of dollars to get their property listed and visible online.

These costs have increased substantially over the past decade, and they form a significant part of the total expense of selling a home. Yet many sellers do not fully understand what they are paying for, where the money goes, or what alternatives exist.

This article breaks it down.

The Major Platforms and What They Charge

Australia's property listing market is dominated by two platforms: realestate.com.au (owned by REA Group) and Domain (owned by Domain Holdings). Between them, they account for the vast majority of online property search traffic in the country. Both are successful businesses that have built large, engaged audiences over many years.

Neither platform publishes simple, transparent pricing for sellers. Instead, listings are typically purchased through real estate agents, who bundle platform fees into broader marketing packages. This structure makes it difficult for sellers to know exactly how much of their marketing spend goes to portal listing fees versus other services.

That said, the general cost structure is well understood within the industry.

Realestate.com.au (REA Group)

REA Group offers tiered listing products, with higher tiers providing greater visibility. The approximate costs for residential listings vary by market but generally fall into these ranges:

Standard listings may be included as part of an agent's subscription, but offer limited visibility.
Highlight listings provide increased prominence and typically cost several hundred dollars.
Premiere listings — the top tier, offering maximum visibility with larger images, featured placement, and priority in search results — can cost between $2,000 and $5,000 or more, depending on the property's location and price bracket.

In high-value markets like Sydney and Melbourne, premier listing costs tend to be at the upper end of these ranges. For prestige properties, costs can be higher still.

REA Group's listing fees have increased over recent years. The company's financial results consistently show revenue growth driven in part by price increases on its listing products.

Domain

Domain offers a similar tiered structure, though its pricing tends to be somewhat lower than REA Group's equivalent products. Domain's market share is smaller, particularly outside of Sydney, which gives it less pricing power.

As with REA, costs vary by market and tier. Premium placement on Domain is generally less expensive than the equivalent on realestate.com.au, but it is still a meaningful cost.

Agent Marketing Packages

Most sellers encounter these costs not as individual line items but as part of an agent's marketing package. A typical marketing package might include:

Photography: Professional photos, often including drone and twilight shots. Cost: $300 to $800.
Floor plans: A measured and drawn plan of the property layout. Cost: $150 to $400.
Copywriting: Professional property description. Cost: $100 to $300.
Video or virtual tour: Increasingly common, particularly for higher-value properties. Cost: $500 to $2,000.
Portal listings: Fees for realestate.com.au and Domain, as described above. Cost: $1,000 to $5,000+.
Print advertising: Local newspaper or magazine ads. Cost: $500 to $2,000+ per insertion.
Signboard: A "For Sale" sign for the front of the property. Cost: $200 to $500.
Social media advertising: Targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram. Cost: $200 to $1,000.

All up, marketing packages commonly range from $5,000 to $15,000 for a standard residential property. In premium markets, they can exceed $20,000.

These costs are typically paid upfront by the seller, regardless of whether the property sells. If the property does not sell, or if you change agents, you generally do not get this money back.

Where the Money Actually Goes

When you look at the breakdown, a substantial portion of the marketing spend goes to the listing platforms themselves. Photography, floor plans, and copywriting are relatively modest costs. The major expense is portal listing fees and, in some cases, print advertising.

This raises a reasonable question: are sellers getting good value from these fees?

The argument in favour is straightforward. Platforms like realestate.com.au have enormous audiences. Millions of Australians use them to search for property, and a premier listing gets your property maximum visibility. If that exposure leads to more competition among buyers and a higher sale price, the listing fee can pay for itself.

The other side of it is that the cost of this exposure has increased faster than many sellers expected. The platforms have large, established audiences, which gives them significant pricing power. For sellers in expensive markets, the total marketing cost can feel disproportionate.

Both perspectives have merit, and the right answer depends on your specific property and market.

The Impact on Sellers

For sellers, these costs mean that a significant amount of money is spent before any return is realised. Consider a typical scenario:

Property value: $1,000,000
Agent commission (2.2%): $22,000
Marketing package: $8,000
Conveyancing: $1,500
Total selling costs: $31,500

That is over 3% of the property's value in selling costs. For many Australians, this represents a meaningful sum — money that could go towards the purchase of their next home, paying down a mortgage, or other financial goals.

Agent commissions have remained relatively stable over time, but marketing costs — driven largely by portal listing fee increases — have grown.

What Are the Alternatives?

Several options exist for sellers looking to manage their marketing costs:

Negotiation

Agent commissions and marketing packages are negotiable. Sellers are not obligated to accept the first proposal. Shopping around, comparing packages, and negotiating on both commission rates and marketing costs can save thousands of dollars. This is a straightforward step that many sellers overlook.

Private Sale Services

A growing number of services cater specifically to private sellers, offering unbundled services — professional photography, contract preparation, listing assistance — without the full agent commission. These services let sellers choose and pay for only what they need.

Direct Marketing

Social media, particularly Facebook Marketplace and local community groups, has become a meaningful channel for property marketing. It is effectively no cost, can be targeted to your local area, and is where many buyers spend their time.

Alternative Listing Platforms

Newer platforms offer lower-cost or no-cost listings. Realify, for example, currently allows sellers to list for no charge during its beta period. It also structures listings for AI-assisted search, which is an additional way for buyers to discover your property. As a newer platform, it does not yet have the audience size of the major portals, but it can complement your marketing alongside other channels.

What This Means for the Market

The cost of listing property has broader implications beyond individual sellers. High listing costs create friction that can discourage some sellers from entering the market, and they create a barrier for private sellers who might otherwise choose to sell without an agent.

More options for sellers — whether through fee negotiation, alternative platforms, or direct marketing — gives the market more flexibility. As AI-assisted property search grows and buyers discover homes through new channels, the way properties are marketed is likely to continue evolving.

The Bottom Line

Selling property in Australia is expensive, and a meaningful portion of that expense goes to listing fees. These costs are largely bundled into agent marketing packages and have increased over recent years.

As a seller, it is worth understanding exactly where your marketing dollars go. Ask your agent for an itemised breakdown. Compare packages from different agents. Consider whether additional marketing channels — social media, alternative platforms, or direct approaches — could complement your campaign.

Being informed about the costs puts you in a better position to make decisions that suit your circumstances and budget.