Marketing a home for sale through an agent generally costs between $1,000 and $10,000, according to realestate.com.au's guide to selling costs, updated in February 2026. The same guide puts the average 2026 campaign in Melbourne at $6,500 to $8,000, and campaigns in Sydney at $4,500 to $10,000.

If you have two marketing quotes for the same home that are thousands of dollars apart, compare what each one includes: the listing sites, the listing level on each (called a tier, which sets how prominent your ad is), how long the listings run, the rest of the campaign, and the total. What you pay depends mainly on where the property is, what the campaign includes and the tiers booked.

An older rule of thumb, from ANZ's guide to selling costs, is 0.5 to 1 per cent of the property's value: $5,000 to $10,000 on a $1 million home. That figure dates from 2016. Treat both ranges as a rough guide only.

Whichever agents you're considering, get their marketing costs itemised in writing before you sign anything. Find local agents, then compare their proposed marketing plans and fees.

What's in an agent's marketing package?

A marketing quote usually bundles several items. Some agents include part of the marketing in their commission and others charge all of it separately, so check both when you compare real estate agent fees. A package can include:

• a realestate.com.au listing, at a particular tier and for a set time
• Domain and other listing sites
• photography, video and drone footage
• a floor plan and the listing copy
• a signboard and brochures
• social media and paid online ads
• print advertising
• the agent's buyer database and website

The checklist further down shows what to confirm for each one.

Getting the property ready is a separate cost from advertising it. Styling, cleaning, repairs and the auctioneer's fee can appear in the same agreement, so ask for them on their own lines. Our guides cover what a real estate photographer costs, property styling costs and what an auctioneer charges.

How much does it cost to advertise on realestate.com.au?

It depends on your suburb and the listing tier. Agents quoted by ABC News in June 2025 put some premium listings in Sydney at more than $5,000, and a listing in Melbourne's Doncaster area at around $4,500. REA has raised its Premiere+ price since.

realestate.com.au is owned by REA Group, and it doesn't publish its prices for sale listings. REA told the ABC that its prices reflect a small percentage of property sale values, based on the median house value in each area. So two neighbouring suburbs can pay very different amounts: an agent quoted by the ABC gave an example where one suburb's listing cost more than twice its neighbour's.

The listing can be a large share of a campaign. The ABC reported that a seller in Melbourne's north-east paid her agent almost $5,880 to market her unit, and $3,289 of that went on the realestate.com.au listing. That's one sale, not an average.

Listing prices have been rising. REA charges agencies for listings, and agents generally pass the cost on to sellers. REA told investors in August 2026 that the price of its Premiere+ listing rose 7 per cent on average in 2025–26, and that it expects growth in 2026–27 driven by an 8 per cent Premiere+ price rise. The ABC reported that Domain also raises its prices each year. These figures can't be used to update a particular 2025 price, so treat the 2025 figures as examples, not current quotes, and ask for an itemised price for your property.

The listing tiers

realestate.com.au sells listings at several levels, called tiers. Its help pages for agents list four, from the top: Premiere, Highlight, Feature and Standard. REA also sells Premiere+ and Luxe, which its 2026 reports to investors name, so ask which product, and any extras, a quote includes. Higher tiers give a listing more prominent placement in search results and a bigger presentation, and they cost more.

Ask your agent what the tier they're recommending includes, what a lower tier would cost in your suburb, and how many enquiries each tier tends to bring for homes like yours. Whether an upgrade is worth the extra cost depends on your market, and your agent should be able to explain it.

Domain prices its listings separately. If your agent recommends it, ask for its price and what's included on a line of its own.

Who pays for advertising, and when?

The seller pays for marketing, either as a separate charge or inside the commission. Your agency agreement sets out how much and when it's due. When you pay the marketing costs yourself, separately from the commission, it's often called vendor paid advertising, or VPA (the vendor is the seller). Arrangements differ between agents, so ask:

• when payment is due
• what you'll owe if the home doesn't sell, if you take it off the market, or if you change agents

Rules differ by state. For example:

• Victoria: you pay the marketing costs agreed in the sales authority (the agreement you sign with the agent) even if the property doesn't sell, unless you negotiate a "no sale, no fee" arrangement. The agent must pass on to you any rebates or discounts they get on advertising, and can't charge you more for it than you authorised in writing or than they paid, says Consumer Affairs Victoria.
• NSW: the agent can ask you to pay for advertising if the agency agreement sets it out, and you can negotiate the amounts.
• Queensland: you reimburse the agent only for expenses you've discussed and authorised in advance, according to the Queensland Government. The form you sign to appoint the agent sets out these costs and when they're due.

What the ACCC changed in 2026

In September 2026 the ACCC, the competition regulator, accepted a court-enforceable undertaking, a legally binding promise, from REA. It took effect on 11 September 2026 and runs for three years.

• Since 11 September 2026, REA can't make an agency's subscription depend on the agency listing all or most of its properties on realestate.com.au. Nor can it tie sponsorship funding to an agency committing to list or upgrade all or most of its properties at a particular tier.
• From 1 January 2027, an agency whose contract commits all or most of its listings to an upgraded tier must be offered the choice to move at least 25 per cent of its eligible sale listings (those it has committed above a standard listing) to a lower tier, calculated on its eligible sale listings in the previous calendar half-year.

These rules govern REA's contracts with agencies. They don't set realestate.com.au's prices, and they don't entitle every seller to a cheaper tier. The ACCC encourages sellers to talk to their agent about the listing options and fees on different sites.

Compare the quotes before you choose an agent

Before you sign, ask each agent for their commission, fees and marketing costs in writing, then compare them line by line:

For more help with selling, download our free Smart Seller Guide.

Frequently asked questions about advertising and marketing a property