Calculate net proceeds as a written stack, starting from the price and subtracting every line in the order the money actually leaves. For a listed Kierland / Scottsdale Airpark / Magic ZIP sale, the documented stack begins with commission at 5 to 6 percent of the price, then seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent, then any inspection credit, then the carrying costs already spent while the home sold, and finally the mortgage payoff, which produces the cash the seller actually receives (National Association of Realtors, 2025). On a 900,000 dollar list price in this ZIP, that stack is exactly how a headline figure can settle into the high 700,000s in net terms before any price reduction is counted.

Worksheet and sale documents for a Kierland home in 85254, illustrating the stacked net proceeds calculation this report teaches
Net proceeds worksheet beside a 85254 sale file, showing the subtraction stack a Kierland seller should build before accepting any price.

Key Findings

  • The net stack for a listed sale here is price, minus commission at 5 to 6 percent, minus seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent, a combined first deduction of 6 to 8 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
  • On a 670,000 dollar older home, that combined deduction exceeds 45,000 dollars, with about 37,000 dollars from commission alone.
  • Inspection credits of 15,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars are normal on listed sales of this ZIPs 1970s and 1980s homes and belong in the stack as a planned line.
  • Carrying costs run 4,000 dollars to 7,000 dollars a month on a 900,000 dollar property, so the number of months in the process is itself a line in the calculation.
  • In the study sample, 23 of 27 older homes sold to builders (Frontier Capitals, 2026), and the direct stack removes the commission and seller closing cost lines entirely.

What is the correct order for building the stack?

Order matters because some lines are percentages of the original price while others are fixed sums or personal balances, and mixing them produces the fuzzy estimates sellers complain about later. Start with the contract price, the only figure both parties have actually agreed. Subtract commission next, computed on that price at the rate in your listing agreement or, for planning, at the documented 5 to 6 percent range for this market (National Association of Realtors, 2025). At 900,000 dollars that line is 45,000 dollars to 54,000 dollars; at 670,000 dollars it is about 37,000 dollars. Write both the rate and the dollars, because the dollars are what you are actually surrendering.

Subtract seller closing costs second, again from the price rather than from the remainder, since the documented 1 to 2 percent is charged on the sale price as well. The two percentage lines together take 6 to 8 percent, and computing them independently against the same price keeps the estimate honest. The escrow settlement will handle the actual items, recording, prorations and settlement charges, and the recorded result will land in the county record when the deed files (Maricopa County Recorder, 2026). Planning with the range is not imprecision; it is the correct response to a bundle whose final items settle at the table.

Only after the percentage lines should fixed and negotiated lines enter. The inspection credit, the seller concessions toward buyer costs and any agreed repair completions are dollar amounts set by your contract, and they subtract cleanly once the percentage base is settled. Sellers who enter them first tend to understate the percentage lines by computing those on a reduced figure, flattering the estimate by hundreds or thousands of dollars. The stack has one rule worth taping to the page: percentages on price, dollars after, payoff last.

The payoff comes last because it is not a cost of selling in the same sense as the others; it is the settlement of a debt the seller already owed, converted from a monthly obligation into a single closing line. Subtracting it at the end keeps two different questions separate: what did the sale itself consume, and what cash reaches the seller after debts are cleared. A free and clear Kierland home makes the distinction vivid, since its entire stack is sale costs only. A recently purchased home shows the opposite, with the payoff dwarfing every fee in the file. For a priced example of the whole method, the 1.5 million dollar keep calculation for this ZIP runs these steps at that level.

Which lines do sellers most often forget to include?

The inspection credit is the champion of forgotten lines. Sellers plan for commission, accept closing costs and then treat the post inspection negotiation as an insult rather than a budget item, even though credits of 15,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars are normal on this stock, driven by roof age, polybutylene plumbing, older electrical panels and pool equipment. Enter the mid range of that band as a planning line the day you list. If the inspection comes back gentler, your net improves on paper instantly, which is a far better experience than revising it downward during escrow.

Carrying cost is the second forgotten line, because it leaves in monthly fragments rather than at the table. Taxes, insurance, utilities in the cooling season, pool service, desert landscaping and mortgage or equity carry together run 4,000 dollars to 7,000 dollars a month on a 900,000 dollar Kierland property. A process lasting the typical 60 to 120 plus days for a listed older home therefore consumes 8,000 dollars to 28,000 dollars outside the settlement statement entirely. A seller comparing a fast offer with a slow one without this line is comparing different sales, not different prices.

The price reduction is the third omission, and the data marks it as a probability rather than a possibility. With 22.5 percent of Phoenix listings carrying a price drop in August 2025 (Redfin, 2025) and 62.2 percent of homes selling below original list in the 2025 year end figures, with an average discount of 3.8 percent across all sales (Redfin, 2026), a realistic stack includes a scenario at a reduced price alongside the hopeful one. Two stacks, one at ask and one at a modest discount, tell a seller more than any single number can. The discount scenario is usually the one that resembles the closing.

Financing climate quietly edits every line. At a 30 year fixed rate of 7.28 percent as of October 1, 2026 (Freddie Mac, 2026), financed buyers negotiate harder and close slower, which lengthens carrying time and raises the odds of the credit and reduction lines both firing. Commission negotiation cuts the other way: the average buyer agent share of 2.40 percent and the documented fact that 37.4 percent of sellers negotiated their commission (Redfin, 2025) mean the first line of the stack is partly a choice. A complete calculation shows the optimistic, expected and discounted cases, because the market will choose among them whether the seller models them or not. The costs hiding inside those cases are catalogued in the hidden expenses report for this ZIP.

Seller reviewing a stacked proceeds estimate for a 85254 home, with commission, closing and credit lines itemized in dollars
Itemized net proceeds estimate for a Kierland seller in 85254, showing the percentage and dollar lines in their correct order.

How do the inputs get verified before the estimate is trusted?

Each line of the stack has a document behind it, and the estimate is only as good as those documents. The price line should come from recorded comparable sales rather than from asking prices, because deeds record completed bargains (Maricopa County Recorder, 2026) while listings record hopes. In this ZIP that discipline matters doubly, since older homes trade at an average of 27.3 percent of comparable new build prices (Frontier Capitals, 2026), and a seller pricing from new construction headlines will build the whole stack on sand.

The property lines come from the parcel file. Lot dimensions, zoning classification and assessed land value in the assessor record (Maricopa County Assessor, 2026) determine which buyer pool, occupant or builder, is realistic for the home, and therefore which price and which stack structure apply. County parcel and permit records add the history of additions and permitted work (Maricopa County, 2026), which predicts the inspection line better than optimism does. A seller who reads both files can defend every input in the worksheet, and can also spot the inputs a buyer will challenge.

Tax belongs in the verification pass as a separate, clearly labeled estimate. Net proceeds at closing and taxable gain are different numbers computed for different purposes, and Publication 523 governs the second one, including how selling expenses figure into it (Internal Revenue Service, 2025). Mixing them produces a proceeds figure that is wrong twice. The clean approach is two documents: the closing stack for cash, and a gain estimate for the tax conversation with an adviser, sharing the same price and expense inputs so they reconcile.

Recompute the stack at three moments: before listing, when the first real offer arrives and when any price or credit negotiation opens. Each recomputation takes minutes, and each one converts a vague sense of the outcome into a number the seller can act on, including the decision that the correct net is the one already offered rather than the one still being chased. The closing costs report for this ZIP supplies the detail for the second line of the stack, and the full selling cost report supplies the rest of the inputs in one place.

Kierland street in 85254 where a seller verifies a proceeds estimate against recorded sales on nearby lots
Kierland street in 85254, illustrating the nearby recorded sales a seller uses to verify each input of a net proceeds estimate.

How does the stack look when the sale is direct and off market?

Privacy is the first line that changes, in the sense that several public costs never enter the stack. With no showings, open houses or marketing period, the seller avoids the preparation spending and, more importantly, the public price reduction trail that weakens later negotiations. The stack that remains is shorter, and shorter stacks are easier to verify line by line before signing anything.

Flexibility compresses the carrying line toward zero. A direct sale can close in 7 to 21 days rather than the 60 to 120 plus days of a listed older home, or it can be set months out with a leaseback when the seller prefers, which turns the carrying line from a risk into a chosen number. Either way the seller writes that line into the estimate as a known figure, the only version of it that deserves a place in a decision.

The percentage lines then leave the stack entirely. In the direct structure documented for this ZIP, the seller pays no commission and no seller closing costs, removing the combined 6 to 8 percent, over 45,000 dollars on a 670,000 dollar transaction and proportionally more at higher prices (National Association of Realtors, 2025). What remains is the agreed price, minus any payoff, with the tax question handled separately as it should be. This is why direct offers must be compared on net rather than gross: a lower direct price can produce a higher bottom line than a higher listed price once the stacks are honestly written.

Condition removes the credit line as well. A direct buyer takes the home as it stands, so the inspection credits of 10,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars in the direct comparison ledger, and the higher listed range on this stock, are not subtracted after agreement. The estimate the seller signs against is the estimate that funds, with no mid escrow revision waiting. For households whose plans depend on the exact proceeds, a mortgage payoff, a purchase elsewhere, an estate settlement, that stability is the products real value.

Frontier Capitals sources off market deals to builders; it does not build, does not buy every home and does not prepare anyones tax return. Its contribution to a proceeds calculation is the direct stack itself, a price with the percentage lines removed and a date the seller chooses, which the seller can test against any listed estimate line by line. A firm that believed its structure lost on honest arithmetic would not invite the comparison this report teaches.

Methodology and limitations

The ranges in this worksheet, commission at 5 to 6 percent, seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent, credits and carrying costs at the levels stated, are the documented ranges for this market and stock compiled in the underlying study material (National Association of Realtors, 2025) (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Prices and discounts reference the sold and listing record for the ZIP and the wider Phoenix market (Redfin, 2026) (Redfin, 2025). No property was inspected, no title search was performed and no individual payoff or tax figure was examined for this report, because those two lines are personal to each seller and must be taken from the lenders statement and the sellers records respectively. The method is exact; the inputs for any one home must still be gathered home by home.

Conclusion

Net proceeds in Kierland / Scottsdale Airpark / Magic ZIP are not discovered at the closing table; they are calculated, in a fixed order, from percentages on the price, dollar lines from the negotiation, months on the calendar and the payoff at the end. A seller who builds that stack before choosing a route already knows which offer truly wins. To have the stack built for your home with its real inputs, call 401-219-4207 or write to [email protected]. If the bottom line is the only line that spends, why do so many sellers negotiate every line except it?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest way to estimate my net today?

Take your realistic price and subtract 6 to 8 percent for commission and seller closing costs, then subtract a mid range inspection credit and your mortgage payoff. On a 670,000 dollar sale the first step alone removes over 45,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026). That five minute version will land close enough to expose any fantasy in a list price. Refine it afterward with your actual listing rate and payoff statement.

Should carrying costs really be in a proceeds calculation?

Yes, because they are money spent to achieve the sale, even though they leave monthly rather than at closing. At 4,000 dollars to 7,000 dollars a month on a 900,000 dollar property, two extra months equal a mid sized inspection credit. Excluding them flatters slow strategies and penalizes fast ones in every comparison. Include the months you have already spent as well as the months you still expect, so the figure reflects the whole campaign.

Does a higher offer always produce higher net proceeds?

No, because offers differ in the lines attached to them. A higher price with a full inspection contingency, a long closing and seller concessions can net less than a lower as is price closing in three weeks, once credits and carrying months are priced. Write both stacks completely before comparing. The deed will record the price (Maricopa County Recorder, 2026), but your bank account will record the net, and only one of those pays for your next home.

Where do I get the exact payoff figure?

From your lender, for a stated closing date, since interest accrues daily and the balance on a statement is already historical when it arrives. Enter that dated figure as the last line of the stack, and update it if the closing date moves. Sellers without a mortgage skip the line entirely, which is why two neighbors selling identical homes at identical prices can keep very different amounts. The stack accommodates both cases without modification.

How does the direct stack differ in one sentence?

It removes the two percentage lines and the inspection credit line, leaving price minus payoff with a chosen closing date. At the documented combined rate of 6 to 8 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025), that removal is worth over 45,000 dollars at 670,000 dollars and grows with the price. Whether it beats a listed outcome still depends on the gross prices each route achieves for your lot, which the parcel file (Maricopa County Assessor, 2026) helps predict.

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