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Flat-fee MLS in Hawaii

What it actually costs to sell a house in Hawaii without paying a listing commission, using Hawaii’s real transfer tax and title customs rather than a national average.

Real estate transfer tax

0.10%

$450 on $450,000

Seller pays title?

Usually not

Customarily the buyer

Listing commission saved

$10,800

vs. a 2.5% listing fee, after a $450 package

What you save, and what you take on

On a $450,000 sale in Hawaii, a 2.5% listing commission is $11,250. A flat-fee Multiple Listing Service (MLS) package typically runs a few hundred dollars. That difference, $10,800, is the entire financial case for selling this way.

In exchange you inherit the listing agent’s job. Pricing it right, getting decent photographs, writing the thing, answering the phone, standing in the kitchen every Saturday, and then negotiating a contract with someone who may do this for a living.

Whether that is a good trade depends on what your time is worth and whether haggling over a six-figure number sounds tolerable or awful. Both answers are legitimate.

What Hawaii charges no matter who sells the house

Hawaii's conveyance tax is graduated by sale price and by whether the buyer qualifies for an owner-occupant exemption. The figure here is the entry tier; higher-priced sales climb substantially.

Who pays the owner's title policy here is set by local custom and is commonly the buyer, so it is left out of the seller's column. Confirm locally.

Flat-fee MLS services in Hawaii

We are still checking these ourselves

We have not published provider recommendations for Hawaii yet. Rather than repeat a list of names and stale prices scraped from other sites, we are verifying coverage and current pricing directly before we put anything here. Tell us if you want Hawaii prioritised and we will move it up.

Run your own numbers

The figures above use a $450,000 example. Put in your own sale price, mortgage balance and commission assumptions to see what Hawaii leaves you with.

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Common questions

Does Hawaii require a real estate agent to sell a house?
No. No state requires you to hire a listing agent. Hawaii does not require an attorney at closing either, though you can hire one if you want the contract reviewed.
What transfer tax will I pay in Hawaii?
Real estate transfer tax runs about 0.10% of the sale price, which is roughly $450 on a $450,000 sale. Hawaii's conveyance tax is graduated by sale price and by whether the buyer qualifies for an owner-occupant exemption. The figure here is the entry tier; higher-priced sales climb substantially.
Will my house still show up on Zillow?
Yes, if you use a flat-fee Multiple Listing Service (MLS) package. Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com pull from MLS feeds, so a flat-fee listing puts you in the same places a full-service listing appears. A pure For Sale By Owner (FSBO) sale with no MLS listing does not get that distribution.
Do I still have to offer the buyer’s agent a commission?
No. Since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately and is no longer advertised on the MLS. Many sellers still offer something to stay competitive with comparable listings, but it is now your decision rather than a default.

Where these numbers come from

Figures on this page are estimates for planning, not quotes. Transfer taxes and title customs vary by county and city and change over time. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm your numbers with a licensed professional in Hawaii before acting on them.