If you're getting your home ready to list, many of the jobs you're planning will cost hundreds of dollars, not thousands.

On the prices businesses publish on their own websites (October 2026), expect to pay a handyman $80 to $165 an hour, about $460 for a 4 cubic metre skip bin for a week, and about $500 for a vacate clean (the deep clean once you've moved out) of a three-bedroom home.

Painting, styling and renovations are where the bill runs into the thousands. For a full interior repaint of a three-bedroom home, one Melbourne painter starts at $3,200, and the three others that publish a price start at $5,000.

Styling a vacant three-bedroom house costs about $2,500 to $5,000. A complete bathroom renovation has a middle starting price of about $21,000.

For a light refresh of a three-bedroom house, published prices add up to about $1,700 to $2,100 before materials. Before you spend, it's worth asking the agents you're comparing which jobs buyers would notice. For which jobs to do and when, see our guide to the jobs to do in the weeks before you list.

What pre-sale jobs cost: the short list

These are the prices businesses publish on their own websites, checked in October 2026. Where enough businesses publish a price, the table gives the middle price: line the prices up from lowest to highest, and it's the one in the middle. "From" prices are starting points, and the job you need may cost more.

How much do small repairs cost?

If you've got a list of small jobs, a handyman will charge you $80 to $165 an hour, with materials extra. Expect a call-out fee of about $80 to $90, or a minimum charge of $135 to $170 instead.

A handyman suits jobs like a sticking door, a torn fly screen, loose handles or patching. One Sydney handyman says re-meshing a sliding screen door typically costs $130 to $200. Before you book a handyman for a tap, a light or a power point, ask whether the job needs a licensed plumber or electrician.

Plumbers. Many plumbers that publish their fees charge no call-out fee in business hours, and some quote a fixed price before they start. For a leaking tap, one Sydney plumber starts at $218 including GST, and a Gold Coast plumber charges $80 to $180 a tap to replace the washer, parts included.

Electricians. Electricians rarely publish their rates. One Perth electrician charges $45 to replace a light fitting with a similar one, plus a $110 call-out.

How much does painting cost before selling?

If you're repainting inside, a three-bedroom home starts at $3,200 at one Melbourne painter. Three others start at $5,000, with upper ends of $7,000 to $12,000. A single room costs from $300 at the Melbourne painter, and up to $1,500 at two others.

Repainting the outside of a single-storey house starts at $3,000 to $8,000, and a two-storey house at $10,000 to $12,000, rising past $20,000 at two painters. These exterior prices come from painters in NSW and Victoria, so if you're selling elsewhere, ask two or three painters for a written quote.

If you touch up scuffs and cover a bold wall yourself, you'll pay for the paint and supplies. There's more on hiring a painter in our guide to house painting costs.

How much does it cost to tidy the garden and outside?

If your lawn is small and well kept, expect a mow to start at $40 to $55 at most businesses that publish a price. Some charge more: one Perth business starts its mows at $150. An overgrown lawn costs from about $100 to $250 or more at one Canberra business.

A basic garden tidy starts at $70 to $90, and clearing an overgrown garden from about $150 to $350 or more. Bigger outdoor jobs, such as new plants or paving, are covered in what landscaping and gardening cost.

Pressure cleaning. The smallest job, often a small driveway, costs $100 to $250 at most businesses that publish a price, and the middle price is $159. Some businesses charge by the square metre instead, from $1.60 to $6.

Washing the outside of a house starts at about $250 to $450, and a roof at about $400 to $900.

How much does cleaning and clearing out cost?

A vacate clean is the deep clean usually done once a home is empty. For three bedrooms, the middle published price is about $500, and most businesses charge between $450 and $550. Prices depend on whether it's a house or a unit, how many bathrooms it has and its condition, so get a quote for your home.

Where fewer than three businesses in a state publish a price, the table shows their price or range rather than a middle price. Some state figures include national companies that charge the same price in every state.

Carpets are usually extra to a vacate clean. Cleaning the carpets in three bedrooms costs about $120 to $191, mostly because the carpet cleaners that publish prices set minimum charges of $120 to $150.

Skip bins. Weight limits and hire periods differ, so check both before you book.

If you'd rather someone else loaded it, rubbish removal businesses charge about $80 to $135 per cubic metre, with minimum charges of $130 to $349. There's more on cleaning in our guide to what move-out cleaning costs.

How much does it cost to sand and polish floors?

If you have timber floors to sand and polish, expect $35 to $100 per square metre, and most quote $40 to $75. One Melbourne business prices a standard three-bedroom home (80 to 100 square metres) at $3,500 to $6,500.

Some set a minimum: one Perth business charges at least $1,200 a job. If you have timber under old carpet, get a quote and ask your agent whether buyers would value the floors.

How much does home styling cost?

If you'll have moved out before you list, styling a vacant three-bedroom house with hired furniture costs about $2,500 to $5,000, usually for four to eight weeks. Prices vary by city and home size, and our home staging costs guide breaks them down.

How much does a kitchen or bathroom renovation cost?

If you're weighing up a new bathroom, a complete renovation starts at $13,500 to $34,900, and the middle starting price is about $21,000. At several firms, an ensuite starts at about $15,000.

A budget of about $10,000 usually buys a partial job instead: new tapware, a vanity, paint and new fittings, without retiling. For the full picture, see what a bathroom renovation costs.

Kitchens. Replacement cabinet doors start at $61 to $94 each, supply only, so fitting is extra. If you're thinking of a full kitchen, see our guide to kitchen renovation costs.

If you're wondering whether a renovation will pay for itself when you sell, see our guide to which renovations add value before you sell.

What does your state require, and what does it cost?

If you're selling in Queensland, NSW, WA or the ACT, your state has rules that can add to your costs. In Queensland, most installers charge about $480 to $590 to fit four smoke alarms in a single-storey three-bedroom house, and if you have a pool, its safety inspection costs $110 to $155. From 1 January 2027, every Queensland home needs compliant smoke alarms, sale or not.

In NSW, a pool certificate inspection costs $150 at councils that publish the fee, or $295 to $495 from a private certifier. In the ACT, the seller's building, pest and energy reports cost $1,700 to $1,925 as a package.

Queensland smoke alarms. A home you sell needs compliant smoke alarms. Among other things, they must be photoelectric and interconnected (when one sounds, they all do). Most installers charge $99 to $129 for each alarm, installed, and some add a visit fee.

How many you need depends on your home's layout and any compliant alarms it already has, so get a quote. As an example, four alarms in a single-storey three-bedroom home come to about $480 to $590 at most installers, including any visit fee, though one charges $756.

Queensland pools. If you have a pool, you'll need a pool safety certificate, or a notice to the buyer saying there isn't one. Even with the notice, the pool still has to meet the safety standard. Inspectors charge $110 to $155 for the inspection, and some also list a Queensland Building and Construction Commission fee of $47.30 for the certificate.

NSW pools. If your home has a pool, your sale contract generally needs the pool's registration certificate and a pool certificate, such as a certificate of compliance. If you don't already have a valid one, that means an inspection. Some strata and off-the-plan sales are exempt.

Councils such as the City of Sydney charge $150 for the first inspection, and $100 if a re-inspection is needed. Private certifiers charge $295 to $495.

WA safety switches and smoke alarms. Before ownership passes to the buyer, your home needs compliant smoke alarms and at least two safety switches (RCDs) protecting its power points and lights. A licensed electrician installs safety switches and mains-powered smoke alarms, so if yours need work, ask one for a quote.

ACT reports. You'll need a building and compliance report and a pest report from inspections done no more than three months before the home is first advertised or listed. Some units and new homes are exempt. The ACT also requires an energy efficiency rating, which must appear in your ads and go to the buyer before they sign.

ACT inspectors sell all three as a seller's package for $1,700 to $1,925. Most offer to let you pay at settlement, the day the sale completes and the money changes hands. Some set a deadline, such as 120 or 180 days after the inspection, if the home hasn't sold by then.

Under ACT law, the buyer pays you back for the first building and pest reports when the sale completes. That doesn't cover extras, such as a faster report, or the energy rating.

In other states, you can choose to get a building and pest report before you list. It costs about $500 to $640 at most firms, and our guide to building inspections explains what one covers. Your conveyancer can tell you whether your sale needs anything else.

How much does it cost to get a three-bedroom house ready to sell?

On published prices, a light refresh of a three-bedroom house comes to about $1,700 to $2,100 before materials. Here's the sum, using the prices above. It's a guide, not a quote.

That's before materials, call-out fees and any job that turns out bigger than expected. If you're selling in Queensland or the ACT, or have a pool in NSW, add your state's costs from the section above. In WA, add any work your safety switches or smoke alarms need.

If you add a professional interior repaint, which starts at $3,200 to $5,000, and styling from about $2,500, the total starts at about $7,400 to $9,600. The jobs are only part of the bill, and our guide to the cost of selling a house covers commission, marketing and conveyancing.

Before you pay for anything

Ask agents first. Find out from the agents you're comparing which jobs would matter to buyers of a home like yours. It's worth adding these to your questions for a real estate agent:

• Which of these jobs would you do before listing, and roughly what should they cost around here?
• What do you think the home would sell for as it is, and after these jobs?
• Do you recommend particular tradespeople, stylists or renovation firms, and do you receive anything for referring them?

Get written quotes. For anything beyond a small job, ask two or three businesses for a written quote that says what's included. Check whether the price includes GST, materials and the call-out fee.

Count the time. If a job delays your listing, every extra week can add loan interest, rates and other costs, so include them in your budget.

Pay at settlement. Some renovation firms offer to do the work now and be paid from your sale at settlement. Before you sign, ask for the total cost in writing, including any fees, and what happens if the home doesn't sell.

For every other step, from choosing an agent to settlement, see our guide to selling your property.

Where these figures come from

Every price on this page comes from a business's own website, such as its price list, rates page, packages or booking page. Council pool inspection fees come from the councils' published fees. All were checked on 20 October 2026.

A business that charges the same price in several cities counts once, and we added GST where a price was published without it.

We worked out a middle price only where at least five businesses published a comparable price nationally, or at least three in a state. The main sets were 18 vacate cleaning prices, 21 skip bin prices, 19 building and pest inspection prices and 15 plumbers' call-out fees.

Some price pages carry older dates, and prices change, so check before you book.