Cash buyer or listing with an agent? The real costs

Listing with an agent usually gets you a higher price. A cash buyer usually pays less than full market value, but takes the house as it is and closes fast, on a date you choose. Which is better depends on the house's condition, your time and what waiting costs you. So compare what each would leave in your pocket, not just the price.

What listing really costs

The figures below are estimates from published sources. Your agent, title company and lender can give you real numbers for your house.

Commission

Since August 17, 2024, under the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement, offers to pay the buyer's agent can't be posted on the MLS, and buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes. Louisiana law requires that buyer agreement too, and lets the buyer's agent be paid by the buyer, the seller, the listing agent or a mix.

Commission "is not set by law and is fully negotiable," NAR says, and Louisiana's 2026 standard contract says the same. If the line for the seller's share of the buyer's agent is left blank, that share is $0.

What sellers pay in practice:

• Clever Real Estate's August 2026 survey of 434 agents put the average total commission at 5.46%, and 5.59% in Louisiana.
• At 377 brokerages using Paperless Pipeline's software, closed deals after the settlement averaged 2.69% for the buyer's agent and 2.54% for the listing agent, about 5.2% in all.

Louisiana's median sale price in September 2026 was $250,000. On that, 5.2% to 5.6% comes to roughly $13,000 to $14,000.

Closing costs

Louisiana has no state transfer tax, and the state constitution bars new ones. Under the standard contract, the buyer pays for the act of sale, the title search and title insurance unless you agree otherwise. You usually pay:

• your mortgage payoff and its cancellation, and any liens;
• your own closing fees, if any;
• any work needed to clear the title;
• past years' property taxes, plus this year's, split to the closing date;
• in Orleans Parish, a flat $325 transfer tax.

Most parishes bill property taxes late in the year, due by December 31, so at closing you'll usually credit the buyer for your part of the year. New Orleans bills in advance, usually due January 31 (in 2026, February 28), so there it often runs the other way. Your title company works it out.

Repairs and concessions

The standard contract doesn't make you fix anything. But buyers get an inspection period, and they can ask for repairs or a credit, or walk away. Buyers using FHA loans have another hurdle: the appraiser must note repairs needed for safety or soundness, and the loan can wait until they're done. Storm damage, a failing roof or termite damage can stop the sale until it's fixed.

Holding costs while you wait

In September 2026, Louisiana homes that sold had spent an average of 73 days on the market: 70 in St. Tammany, 77 in Tangipahoa, 72 in the New Orleans metro and 79 in greater Baton Rouge. Closing then takes about a month; agents in NAR's October 2026 survey said contracts typically closed in 30 days. Every month, you keep paying:

• the mortgage, if you have one;
• homeowners insurance, which averaged $3,027 a year on a standard Louisiana policy in 2023, against $1,737 nationally (NAIC);
• property taxes, where the median parish bill runs from $882 a year in Tangipahoa to $2,606 in Orleans (Tax Foundation, 2024 data);
• power, which averaged $140.96 a month for a Louisiana household in 2024 (EIA), plus water, lawn care and upkeep.

If you still live there, you'd pay most of this anyway. It hurts when the house is empty or inherited, or when you've already moved.

The chance the deal falls through

Agents surveyed by NAR in October 2026 said 7% of their contracts in the past three months had been terminated, and 16% had delayed closings.

What a cash sale costs

The price

A cash offer is usually below what the house would sell for, repaired, on the open market. The buyer is paying for the repairs, for holding and reselling the house (often with an agent's commission), and for its profit.

ATTOM's numbers show the gap. In the second quarter of 2026, the typical flipped home resold for $60,526 more than the investor paid, a 21.5% gross return. In the New Orleans metro, the typical gross return was 75%. Those figures don't count repairs, which flipping veterans estimate at 20% to 33% of the after-repair value.

What you don't pay

No commission and no repairs, cleaning or showings. Passkey charges no fees.

What you still pay

Your mortgage payoff, any liens and your share of property taxes come out of the price. Ask any cash buyer for a written list of the closing costs you'll pay.

What to watch for

Not every "cash buyer" is buying. Some sign a contract and resell it to someone else. Louisiana now requires them to tell you in writing and give you at least five days to cancel. Learn how to check any buyer. And selling as-is doesn't end your duty to disclose what you know.

Do the math

Write both columns down before you decide.

Listing: the likely sale price (ask an agent for a market analysis, which is usually free), minus commission, closing costs, repairs and credits, and holding costs for each month until closing.

Cash: the written offer, minus any closing costs the buyer doesn't cover.

Both are before your mortgage payoff, which you pay either way.

An example, using the estimates above: a $250,000 house, listed. Commission at 5.5% is $13,750. Insurance, taxes and power run about $500 a month, so three months is about $1,500. That leaves about $234,750, before repairs, credits, your closing fees and your mortgage payoff.

For a house in good shape, most cash offers won't come close, and listing is likely the better deal. The math changes when the house needs work a financed buyer won't accept, when holding costs are high, or when time matters more than price.

When listing is the better choice

• The house is in good shape, or needs only cosmetic work.
• A buyer's lender would accept its condition, so most buyers can finance it.
• You have time: three months or more.
• You can keep up the mortgage, taxes, insurance and upkeep meanwhile.
• You have enough equity to pay commission and closing costs. If you don't, see owing more than your house is worth.
• You can handle showings, inspections and repair requests.

If most of these are true, list it. Interview two or three agents, ask each for a market analysis, and negotiate the commission. You can also list as-is, so investors compete for the house on the open market. Selling it yourself is an option too, though only 5% of sales were by owners in NAR's 2025 survey.

When a cash sale can make more sense

• The house needs major repairs you can't or don't want to pay for, or that would stop a buyer's loan. See selling a storm-damaged house.
• A date is coming: a foreclosure, a tax lien, a move, a divorce or an estate to settle.
• Holding costs are piling up on an empty or inherited house, or a rental with tenants.
• You need certainty: no loan to fall through, no repair negotiations.

Free help

Before you hire an agent, check the license with the Louisiana Real Estate Commission. If you're behind on payments, a HUD-approved housing counselor can help you weigh selling against your other options at little or no cost. Counselors and legal aid are listed with the other free help at the end of this guide.

How Passkey can help

We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours, with no fees, commission or repairs, so you can put it next to an agent's estimate. Ask for an offer with the form on this page, or call (985) 317-2695.

Questions

Do I have to pay the buyer's agent?

Not by law. It's negotiated. Louisiana's standard contract sets your share at $0 unless you write in an amount.

How much less is a cash offer?

It depends on the house. A cash buyer prices in repairs, its costs and its profit. Ask any buyer to show how it got to its number.

How long does it take to sell with an agent in Louisiana?

In September 2026, homes that sold had spent an average of 73 days on the market. A buyer's mortgage then takes about a month to close.

Can I list with an agent and still take a cash offer?

Yes. But read your listing agreement first: many say you owe the commission if the house sells while it's listed, whoever finds the buyer.