What are the costs of selling a house in Alberta?

Four costs separate your sale price from the money that lands in your account:

Commission — the biggest. The common Alberta structure is 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the balance, plus GST: roughly $21,500 on a $550,000 sale. Legal fees — typically $1,000–$1,500 for the sell-side lawyer. Repairs and preparation — whatever it takes to compete on MLS, from paint to a renovation. Carrying costs — the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and utilities you pay every month between deciding to sell and actually closing, often the most underestimated line.

A direct sale eliminates the commission, the repairs, and most of the carrying window — traded against a lower headline price. Which path nets more depends entirely on your property; the arithmetic takes sixty seconds in our calculator.