Start with the two documented layers, because they decide most of the answer. On a 1,500,000 dollar Bellevue transaction, commissions plus closing costs commonly exceed 100,000 dollars in the guidance compiled for this set (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The commission layer alone, at the typical total of 5 to 6 percent, runs 75,000 to 90,000 dollars at this price (National Association of Realtors, 2025). The closing layer, seller side title, the Washington real estate excise tax and prorations, adds another 1 to 2 percent, which is 15,000 to 30,000 dollars at this price (Washington Department of Revenue, 2026). Before any mortgage payoff, repair credit or month of holding cost, the seller is therefore looking at keeping roughly 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars of the headline price on the arithmetic of those documented ranges.
The remaining layers decide where inside, or below, that band a specific seller lands. Buyers of older Bellevue homes routinely negotiate repair credits and reductions of 12,000 to 40,000 dollars after inspection (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Three to six months of market time costs 25,000 to 90,000 dollars in pure holding expense on the worked ledger in this set (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A seller who pays a credit and waits five months can watch the kept figure slide toward the low 1,300,000s, while a seller with a clean inspection and a fast closing holds the top of the band. The mortgage payoff then comes out of whatever remains, and it is a personal figure, different for every household.
Key Findings
- Commissions plus closing costs on a 1,500,000 dollar Bellevue transaction commonly exceed 100,000 dollars combined (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- Commission at 5 to 6 percent at this price equals 75,000 to 90,000 dollars, and seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent equal 15,000 to 30,000 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- Repair credits of 12,000 to 40,000 dollars and holding costs of 25,000 to 90,000 dollars can pull the kept figure well below the simple band (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- The Washington excise tax inside the closing layer runs at graduated state rates of 1.10 percent to 3.00 percent by sale price, seller paid, plus local add-ons (Washington Department of Revenue, 2026).
- The mortgage payoff is personal, so two sellers at the same price can keep figures hundreds of thousands of dollars apart (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
How is the kept figure built, layer by layer?
The cleanest way to answer the headline is a subtraction chain, using the documented percentages at the 1,500,000 dollar price. Begin at 1,500,000 dollars. Subtract commission at 5 to 6 percent, which is 75,000 to 90,000 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Subtract seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent, which is 15,000 to 30,000 dollars, with the excise tax inside that layer rather than added again (Washington Department of Revenue, 2026). The result is a band of 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars before credits, holding costs, payoff and any income tax position. That band is an illustration built from the documented ranges, not a quote for any specific home, and this post labels it that way deliberately.
The guides in the underlying research support the scale of that subtraction. The estate guidance for this market puts commissions plus closing costs above 105,000 dollars on a 1,500,000 dollar transaction in its own worked figure, while the divorce guidance puts the combined figure above 100,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Different authors, same neighbourhood of numbers, because the percentages are the same percentages. A seller who hears a claim that total selling costs at this price are trivial should ask which layer the claimant has quietly deleted.
Market evidence explains why the price itself is not a fantasy figure in Bellevue. The 98004 median sold price reached 1,875,000 dollars in August 2026, with a median listing price of 2,220,000 dollars and 54 median days on market (Realtor.com, 2026). A 1,500,000 dollar sale therefore sits below the top of the local market, in the band where older homes in Surrey Downs, Lake Hills and Eastgate actually trade. The subtraction chain matters precisely because the headline number is realistic: real households are keeping, or failing to keep, these sums every season.
What can pull the kept figure below the band?
The inspection credit is the first threat. A buyer examining a pre 1981 home will price what the inspection finds, and the research records routine credits and reductions of 12,000 to 40,000 dollars on older Bellevue inventory (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At the 1,500,000 dollar level, a 40,000 dollar credit is the difference between keeping 1,380,000 dollars and keeping 1,340,000 dollars before other costs. Sellers reduce this risk with a candid Form 17 disclosure under RCW 64.06, which sets expectations before the inspection rather than after it (Washington State Legislature, 2026).
Time is the second threat, and it charges rent for every month of delay. The worked ledger prices three to six months of market time at 25,000 to 90,000 dollars in pure holding expense (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Federal data on the carrying costs of vacant homes describes the mechanics: taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance continue while a property produces nothing (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025). A seller who lists in a slow month and closes two quarters later has spent a credit sized sum without ever using the word credit.
Price reductions form a threat of their own, separate from concessions, because they shrink the base on which every percentage is calculated. In the wider market reporting for this set, 21.1 percent of active listings took price cuts in the four weeks ending September 20, a reminder that the first asking figure is often not the figure that reaches the settlement statement (Redfin, 2026). A seller at 1,500,000 dollars who accepts a 3 percent reduction for the sake of this illustration hands back 45,000 dollars of headline price before commission is even recalculated, and the kept figure falls by nearly that whole amount. The defence is not stubbornness about price; it is choosing a route and a timetable in which the price is tested once, privately, instead of being marked down in public over a season.
Concessions form the third threat, and they are rising in the documented market. In May, 46.2 percent of United States home sales included seller concessions, the highest May share on record (Redfin, 2026). A concession at the 1,500,000 dollar level, whether a rate buydown contribution or a closing cost credit for the buyer, comes straight out of the kept figure. Sellers comparing offers should convert every concession request into dollars and subtract it in the chain, beside commission and closing costs, before ranking the offers.
Where do the mortgage payoff and taxes fit?
The payoff is the most personal number in the chain. A seller who bought decades ago in West Bellevue may owe nothing, while a seller who refinanced recently in Somerset may owe a large share of the price. The closing mechanics are standard either way: the lender payoff runs through escrow at closing, including prorated interest, and home equity lines and second liens must be cleared at the same closing (Frontier Capitals, 2026). County recording and lien reconveyance records then clear the old financing from the title (King County Records, 2026). Two neighbours can sell at the same 1,500,000 dollars on the same day and keep wildly different amounts, and the payoff is usually the reason.
Income tax is the final and most misunderstood layer. The kept figure at closing is a cash figure, not a tax verdict. Federal guidance on the sale of a home sets out ownership and use tests, exclusion amounts and partial exclusion rules that decide whether gain is taxed, and Publication 523 works through the reporting in detail (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). Many long term owner occupiers in Bellevue will find their gain covered in whole or part, while a seller with a short holding period or a rental history faces a different answer. Our companion post, do Bellevue homeowners pay capital gains taxes when selling, takes that question on its own terms, and the net proceeds worksheet in how Bellevue homeowners can calculate their net proceeds from a sale shows where the tax line sits in the full chain. Sellers who want every layer priced before the tax question is even reached can start from the full stack in how much it costs to sell a house in Bellevue, which builds the same chain on the 1,200,000 dollar worked sale.
One caution belongs in every version of this calculation. The excise tax is a transaction cost paid at closing by the seller under the graduated schedule, while capital gains tax is an income tax settled later, and the two must never be merged into one guessed percentage (Washington Department of Revenue, 2026). Sellers who merge them either double count their costs or miss one entirely. The chain in this post keeps them in separate boxes for exactly that reason.
What do sellers keep when a Bellevue sale stays off market?
Privacy is the first protection for a seller at this price level. A direct sale involves zero showings, zero open houses and no public marketing period, so the household keeps its business to itself while a seven figure transaction completes. On streets in West Bellevue where neighbours track every listing, that quiet is worth having even before the dollars are counted.
Flexible timing defends the kept figure against the holding cost layer. A direct closing can complete in 7 to 21 days when speed matters, or wait months out with a leaseback when the next home is not ready, against 60 to 120 plus days for a listed older home (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At the worked holding range, each month avoided is a month of the 25,000 to 90,000 dollar three to six month expense that never leaves the sellers account.
No commissions is the single largest defence of the kept figure. At 5 to 6 percent of 1,500,000 dollars, the commission layer is 75,000 to 90,000 dollars, and a direct seller keeps every dollar of it (National Association of Realtors, 2025). That one preservation moves the kept band from roughly 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars up toward the closing layer alone, before any other benefit is counted.
No seller closing costs defends the next layer. The 1 to 2 percent seller side bundle, title, the Washington excise tax and prorations, is removed from the seller side in a direct off market sale, preserving another 15,000 to 30,000 dollars at this price. Combined with the commission, the preserved selling cost passes the documented 100,000 dollar mark for a transaction of this size.
No inspections or repairs defends the figure against the credit layer. A direct as is sale removes the 12,000 to 40,000 dollar inspection negotiation from the chain entirely (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The seller of an older Somerset home keeps the agreed price intact instead of watching it erode line by line after an inspection report lands.
For clarity about the counterparty in a direct version of this sale: Frontier Capitals is a wholesaler in the technical sense, sourcing off market properties to builders, and it neither builds houses nor describes itself as the builder who will. A seller counting on the preserved layers above should verify the buyer through proof of funds dated within 30 days, recorded deeds checkable in county records, earnest money of typically 1 percent or more, and no assignment clause (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Methodology and limitations
The kept figure in this post is an illustration built by applying the documented commission range, closing cost range, credit range and holding range to a 1,500,000 dollar price, following the worked ledger in the underlying research (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The study behind the set sampled 123 pre 1981 homes across 98004, 98008 and 98006, and no title search, inspection or appraisal of any individual property was performed. No published figure in the source material states a single kept amount for every 1,500,000 dollar Bellevue sale, because the mortgage payoff and tax position are personal, so this post states that limit plainly and answers by method with the documented ranges.
Conclusion
A seller at 1,500,000 dollars in Bellevue keeps the headline price minus a stack that starts above 100,000 dollars in commission and closing costs, then bends with credits, holding time, the mortgage payoff and the individual tax position. The honest kept band before payoff, on the documented ranges, is roughly 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars for a clean, reasonably quick listed sale, and the direct route defends several of those layers at once.
To run the subtraction chain on a specific Bellevue property, call 401-219-4207 or email [email protected]. If two neighbours sold at the same price on your street last year, what do you think explains the different amounts they actually walked away with?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the simplest estimate of the kept figure at this price?
Subtract the two documented layers from the price. Commission at 5 to 6 percent takes 75,000 to 90,000 dollars and seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent take 15,000 to 30,000 dollars, leaving roughly 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars before credits, holding costs and any payoff (National Association of Realtors, 2025). The guidance for this market puts the combined first two layers above 100,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Does the kept figure include paying off the mortgage?
The band in this post is stated before the mortgage payoff, deliberately, because the payoff is personal to each seller. The payoff runs through escrow at closing with prorated interest, and second liens and home equity lines must be cleared at the same time (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A mortgage free seller keeps close to the band; a heavily financed seller keeps the band minus the loan balance.
How much can an inspection credit change the answer?
The research records routine credits and reductions of 12,000 to 40,000 dollars on older Bellevue inventory (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At this price level the top of that range moves the kept figure by more than the entire closing cost layer at its low end. A candid Form 17 disclosure is the sellers main tool for keeping the negotiation small (Washington State Legislature, 2026).
Is tax taken out of the proceeds at closing?
The Washington excise tax is a closing cost, paid by the seller at graduated state rates of 1.10 percent to 3.00 percent by sale price plus local add-ons, and it sits inside the closing layer (Washington Department of Revenue, 2026). Capital gains tax is different: it is an income tax matter settled through the return under the federal ownership, use and exclusion rules (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). The two are never the same line.
How does a seller keep more of the 1,500,000 dollars?
The largest levers are structural. Removing commission preserves 75,000 to 90,000 dollars at this price, removing seller closing costs preserves 15,000 to 30,000 dollars, and an as is direct sale removes the credit layer while a 7 to 21 day closing shrinks holding costs (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Publication 523 then helps the seller report the result correctly at tax time (Internal Revenue Service, 2025).
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder acquisition sample: 123 homes sampled across 98004, 98008 and 98006, 33 acquired by builders, average older home price 37.1 percent of new build. Market data.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Typical seller commission structures, Seattle-Eastside market. Industry report.
- Washington Department of Revenue, 2026. Real estate excise tax schedules: graduated state excise tax 1.10 percent to 3.00 percent by sale price, seller-paid, plus local add-ons. Government data.
- Washington State Legislature, 2026. RCW 64.06, seller disclosure requirements (Form 17). Official record.
- King County Records, 2026. Recording schedules and lien reconveyance records. Official record.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2026. Topic No. 701, Sale of Your Home: ownership and use tests, exclusion amounts, and partial exclusion rules. Government data.
- Realtor.com, 2026. 98004 market: median sold price 1,875,000 dollars, median listing 2,220,000 dollars, 54 median days on market, August 2026. Market data.
- Redfin, 2026. Seller concessions report: 46.2 percent of U.S. home sales included concessions in May, the highest May share on record. Market data.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025. Housing vacancy and homeownership data on carrying costs of vacant homes. Government data.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2025. Publication 523, Selling Your Home. Government data.