What Does It Actually Cost to Sell a House in Connecticut?

Connecticut sellers usually know their sale price down to the dollar. Far fewer know their net number until the settlement statement is sitting in front of them at the closing table, and by then it's too late to plan around it.

The Real Estate Commission Usually Comes Off the Top First

The commission in your listing agreement is typically the single largest cost when you sell a house in Connecticut. It's commonly in the 5% to 6% range of the sale price, though the exact figure is whatever you negotiated when you signed. Compensation for the buyer's agent is negotiated separately now, not automatically paid out of the listing commission, so ask your agent how your listing agreement handles it. On a $400,000 sale, that's $20,000 to $24,000 before anything else comes off: before taxes, before your mortgage payoff, before your attorney fee.

It's easy to anchor on the sale price you're advertising and forget that commission is the first thing to come out of it.

The Connecticut Conveyance Tax, Explained

After commission, the cost sellers most often underestimate is the Connecticut conveyance tax, a transfer tax the seller pays at closing rather than the buyer.

The state portion is tiered:

• 0.75% on the first $800,000 of the sale price
• 1.25% on the portion between $800,000 and $2,500,000
• 2.25% on anything above $2,500,000

On top of that, every Connecticut town adds its own municipal conveyance tax. The base rate is 0.25%, but 18 towns charge a higher 0.50%: Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Bristol, East Hartford, Hamden, Hartford, Meriden, Middletown, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Southington, Stamford, Waterbury, West Haven, and Windham. Stamford is its own case: 0.35% on consideration under $1,000,000, and 0.50% on the portion at or above $1,000,000. Every other Connecticut town charges the standard 0.25%.

For most residential sales, add the state and municipal portions together and you're looking at roughly 1% of the sale price total. It's a smaller line on your closing statement, but a real one, and your attorney calculates it as part of preparing your figures for closing.

Your Mortgage Payoff

If you still owe money on the property, that payoff comes out of your proceeds before you see a dollar of them. Your attorney requests an official payoff statement from your lender reflecting the exact amount due as of your closing date, including per diem interest, so it reflects more than the balance on last month's statement. That figure gets confirmed before closing rather than estimated at the table.

Attorney Fees and Title Clearing

Connecticut law requires closings to be conducted by an attorney. Separately from that, one attorney can't represent both sides of the same sale, so a seller who wants counsel at the table retains their own — not the buyer's attorney, and not either real estate agent. In Connecticut, clearing title is the seller's attorney's job: obtaining releases of old mortgages, resolving liens, fixing recording errors, and clearing anything else standing between you and a clean sale. The buyer's attorney reviews the title search and flags problems; your attorney is the one who actually resolves them.

Attorney fees for a residential closing are typically a flat fee agreed to upfront instead of billed by the hour, so it's one of the few costs on your statement you'll know in advance. If a title issue takes real work to untangle, there can be additional cost tied to that specific work. Sellers of 1- and 2-family dwellings transferred on or after October 1, 2023 also provide a smoke and carbon monoxide detector affidavit at closing, confirming the required equipment is in place.

Prorated Municipal Charges

Property taxes, and sometimes water or sewer charges, get prorated between you and the buyer. Connecticut towns handle that proration on the Uniform Fiscal Year method, with Wallingford and Meriden as the exceptions — they use the Assessment Year method instead. If you've paid ahead, you may see money credited back to you at closing. If you're behind, it comes out of your proceeds. Either way, it's calculated and confirmed before you sign rather than discovered afterward.

Plan around your net proceeds

Your net proceeds are the number to plan around. That's your sale price minus your mortgage payoff, minus commission, minus conveyance tax, minus attorney fees and any title-clearing costs, minus the recording fees for releasing your old mortgage and any other liens, minus prorated charges. It's a short, predictable list, and every item on it is knowable before you sit down at the table.

Plan around your net proceeds, not the sale price.

For a side-by-side look at what buyers and sellers each pay at a Connecticut closing, see our full closing costs breakdown. To understand where these costs land in the timeline between an accepted offer and your closing date, we've laid out the full CT closing process step by step. And since most delays are avoidable with the right preparation, it's worth knowing what typically holds up a Connecticut closing before you list.

Know Your Number Before You List

The math behind what it costs to sell a house in Connecticut is knowable well in advance, and you don't have to wait for a settlement statement to find out what you're actually walking away with. Talk to a Mancuso Carey attorney before you sign a listing agreement, and we'll walk through your specific numbers so nothing surprises you at the table. You can also see how we support sellers through the whole transaction.

Common Questions

How much does it cost to sell a house in Connecticut?

The biggest cost is usually the real estate commission, commonly 5% to 6% of the sale price. On top of that, sellers pay the Connecticut conveyance tax (roughly 1% combined state and municipal for most sales), a flat attorney fee, any mortgage payoff, and prorated municipal charges like property taxes. The total varies by sale price, town, and whether title issues need to be resolved.

What is the Connecticut conveyance tax rate?

The state portion is 0.75% on the first $800,000 of the sale price, 1.25% from $800,000 to $2,500,000, and 2.25% above $2,500,000. Every town also charges a municipal portion: 0.25% in most towns, 0.50% in 18 towns including Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport, and a tiered structure in Stamford (0.35% under $1,000,000, 0.50% at or above it). It's paid by the seller at closing.

Who is responsible for clearing title issues when selling a house in Connecticut?

The seller's attorney. The buyer's attorney orders and reviews the title search and flags any problems, but resolving them (obtaining releases of old mortgages, clearing liens, fixing recording errors) is the seller's attorney's responsibility, handled before closing so the sale isn't held up.