Less than the headline price suggests, and this report shows the gap by scaling the sourced Birmingham rates to a 1,500,000 dollar sale, labeled throughout as an illustration rather than a surveyed result. At the typical total commission of 5 percent to 6 percent, the seller pays 75,000 dollars to 90,000 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Seller closing costs at 1 percent to 2 percent add 15,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars, a band that already includes the Michigan transfer tax of 12,900 dollars at this price, computed from the sourced rate of 8.60 dollars per 1,000 dollars of value (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Commission and closing costs alone therefore leave 1,380,000 dollars to 1,410,000 dollars before inspection credits, carrying costs, any mortgage payoff, and any tax on the gain enter the picture (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Key Findings
- Commission scaled to a 1,500,000 dollar sale equals 75,000 dollars to 90,000 dollars at the typical 5 percent to 6 percent, an illustrated application of the sourced rate (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- Seller closing costs scaled to the same price equal 15,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars at the sourced band of 1 percent to 2 percent (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- The Michigan transfer tax at this price is 12,900 dollars, from the combined rate of 8.60 dollars per 1,000 dollars, and it sits inside the closing cost band rather than on top of it (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- After commission and closing costs only, the illustrated remainder is 1,380,000 dollars to 1,410,000 dollars before inspection credits, carrying costs, mortgage payoff, and taxes (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- The federal Section 121 exclusion can shelter 250,000 dollars of gain for a single filer or 500,000 dollars for a joint filer when the ownership and use tests are met, which affects tax rather than the closing statement (Internal Revenue Service, 2026).
How was this illustration built, and why does the labeling matter?
The research ledger is worked at 700,000 dollars, where commission of 35,000 dollars to 42,000 dollars, closing costs of 1 percent to 2 percent, and combined charges commonly exceeding 45,000 dollars are stated directly (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A seller at 1,500,000 dollars cannot simply double the 700,000 dollar figures and stop, yet the underlying rates travel cleanly, because every major line in the ledger is a percentage of price or a rate per 1,000 dollars of value. Scaling those rates is arithmetic, and this report labels it as an illustration each time so that no reader mistakes a computed example for a newly measured Birmingham average.
Start with commission, the largest line. Five percent of 1,500,000 dollars is 75,000 dollars, and 6 percent is 90,000 dollars, using the typical total commission range reported for the market (National Association of Realtors, 2025). That single line at this price exceeds the entire combined selling cost that many 700,000 dollar sellers expect to pay, which is why seven figure sellers feel the percentage structure so sharply.
Move to closing costs. One percent of the price is 15,000 dollars and 2 percent is 30,000 dollars, covering title, prorations, and transfer tax in the research description of the band (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The transfer tax inside that band is computable exactly: 1,500,000 dollars divided by 1,000, multiplied by the combined 8.60 dollars rate, equals 12,900 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Because the tax alone nearly fills the low end of the band, sellers at this price should be skeptical of any estimate that treats closing costs as a rounding error.
The context for a sale at this level is a market where finished Birmingham homes list between 1,599,000 dollars and 1,975,000 dollars, and where a 1,500,000 dollar seller is often holding either a strong older home or a premium lot (Redfin, 2026). The net proceeds worksheet in the guide to calculating what a Birmingham seller keeps lets owners rerun this illustration with their own price and their own mortgage figure.
Which further lines reduce the amount after commission and closing costs?
Inspection exposure is the next line for an older home, and it does not scale neatly with price. The research places inspection credits or price reductions at 12,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars for a home aged 60 to 70 years, driven by aging mechanicals, old wiring, and foundation findings (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Applying that same range at 1,500,000 dollars is reasonable as an illustration for a comparably aged Birmingham house, and it lowers the running remainder to between 1,350,000 dollars and 1,398,000 dollars when combined with the commission and closing figures above. A newer or thoroughly renewed home may concede less, and the illustration should be adjusted rather than worshipped.
Carrying costs follow, and they scale with time rather than with price. Holding a Birmingham property costs 4,000 dollars to 7,000 dollars a month for taxes, insurance, utilities, and upkeep in the research ledger (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Three to six months of market time therefore adds 12,000 dollars to 42,000 dollars of hold expense (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Deducting the illustrated inspection and carrying ranges from the post commission remainder produces a broad illustrated net between about 1,308,000 dollars and 1,386,000 dollars before any mortgage payoff and before tax on the gain. That breadth is honest, because the calendar is the variable sellers control least on the listed route.
The timeline behind those months is the familiar one. A listed older home normally needs 60 to 120 days to reach closing, while a direct cash sale closes in 7 to 21 days and can remove commission, seller closing costs, and inspection renegotiation from the ledger entirely (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Regional reporting on closing timelines across Southeast Michigan confirms that the longer calendar is a market pattern rather than a Birmingham quirk (Michigan Realtors, 2025). At seven figure prices, the difference between those calendars is worth tens of thousands of illustrated dollars in carrying exposure alone.
Michigan disclosure law shapes the inspection line in advance, since a seller must provide a written statement of known conditions for a 1 to 4 unit residential transfer (Michigan Legislature, 2026). A thorough disclosure on an older high value home invites a thorough inspection response, and sellers should budget for the credit conversation rather than hope to avoid it.
What do mortgage payoff and taxes do to the final amount kept?
Whatever remains after selling costs is still not the amount the seller keeps in the everyday sense, because an existing mortgage is repaid from the proceeds at closing. The research file offers no mortgage balance figure, and no responsible illustration can invent one, so this report treats the payoff as a personal variable that each seller subtracts after the illustrated net (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Deed and lien records connected with the property document the obligations that settlement must clear, and the recorded transfer afterward confirms the buyer name and the completed transaction (Oakland County Register of Deeds, 2026).
Tax on the gain is the other major personal variable, and it is computed on profit rather than on price. A seller can have modest proceeds after a large mortgage payoff and still owe tax on a large gain, or strong proceeds and little tax where the basis is high. Federal guidance on the sale of a home sets out the Section 121 exclusion of 250,000 dollars for a single filer and 500,000 dollars for joint filers who meet the ownership and use requirements (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). Gain beyond the exclusion is where the tax conversation starts, and the companion analysis in the report on whether Birmingham homeowners pay capital gains taxes treats that question on its own.
Michigan adds a state layer to the same gain. The state taxes capital gains as ordinary income at its flat individual rate, so a gain that escapes the federal exclusion is felt on both returns (State of Michigan Department of Treasury, 2026). The research gives no single percentage for a seller total tax bill, and none is offered here, because the bill depends on basis, filing status, and the exclusion outcome for the specific household.
One more transfer related effect deserves a line because buyers raise it at this price level. Proposal A uncapping resets taxable value toward assessed value in the year after a transfer, so the buyer future property tax bill can rise sharply even though the seller does not pay it (State of Michigan, 2026). At a 1,500,000 dollar valuation, that coming increase is large enough for buyers to mention during negotiation, and a prepared seller recognizes it as a buyer cost issue rather than a seller closing charge. City assessment records hold the assessed figures that frame the discussion (City of Birmingham, 2026).
How does the illustrated net change on a direct sale at this price?
The direct route changes the illustration by deleting lines rather than by trimming them. With no commission charged, the 75,000 dollars to 90,000 dollars illustrated commission simply stays with the seller. With no seller closing costs, the 15,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars band stays as well, and the property sells as it stands, so the 12,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars inspection exposure never opens (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The calendar compresses to 7 to 21 days, which shrinks the carrying line toward its floor (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
That arithmetic does not mean a direct buyer will offer the full 1,500,000 dollars. Builder underwriting in Birmingham works from finished value, and the residual illustration supports land value of 340,000 dollars to 450,000 dollars behind a 1,700,000 dollar replacement, with older homes averaging 20.3 percent of a comparable new build price (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A 1,500,000 dollar asking figure for an older home will usually reflect household value, land scarcity, or both, and the direct offer will be built from whichever component the buyer is actually purchasing. Comparing the direct net with the illustrated listed net of about 1,308,000 dollars to 1,386,000 dollars, before mortgage and tax, is the only fair way to judge it.
Listing records help a seller test whether the 1,500,000 dollar premise itself is grounded, since Birmingham asking and sold figures for the ZIP show where seven figure expectations have been rewarded (Redfin, 2026). The cost side of the same test is detailed in the full report on how much it costs to sell a Birmingham house and in the closing cost breakdown for Birmingham sellers, which together supply every rate this illustration scales.
Sellers at this level should also verify any direct buyer with the standing checks: proof of funds in the buyer own name dated within 30 days, recorded prior closings under the entity name, earnest money of 1 percent or more, and no assignment clause paired with a token deposit (Frontier Capitals, 2026) (Oakland County Register of Deeds, 2026). At seven figures, verification is not caution. It is the transaction.
What do sellers keep when a Birmingham sale stays off market?
For a seven figure seller, the off market route is best understood as a defense of the illustrated remainder. Privacy opens the defense, because a sale arranged without showings, open houses, or a public marketing period keeps a high value household affairs off the street and out of listing commentary (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At this price level, discretion is frequently a condition of the deal rather than a courtesy.
Timing continues it. A direct closing in 7 to 21 days, or a delayed closing with a leaseback when a household needs months, replaces the 60 to 120 day listed exposure, and each avoided month preserves 4,000 dollars to 7,000 dollars of carrying cost (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At a 1,500,000 dollar valuation the monthly tax component inside that range is substantial, so the calendar has an outsized effect on what is kept.
The commission saving is the headline item at this price. The 5 percent to 6 percent that a listed sale charges, illustrated here as 75,000 dollars to 90,000 dollars, is not charged on a direct sale (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Seller closing costs are likewise not charged, preserving the illustrated 15,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars band that includes the 12,900 dollar transfer tax at this price (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Those two preservations alone total 90,000 dollars to 120,000 dollars across the illustrated ranges, a figure derived by adding the scaled sourced rates rather than surveyed anew.
The final defense is the integrity of the agreed figure. Selling as it stands removes the inspection renegotiation that commonly costs an older home 12,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars, and it removes the appraisal and financing fragility that can reopen a seven figure contract late (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The seller keeps a number that was negotiated once, against the illustrated listed net of about 1,308,000 dollars to 1,386,000 dollars before mortgage and tax (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
The intermediary behind the route should be named plainly at this value level too. Frontier Capitals serves as a wholesaler that sources off market homes and places them with builders, and it does not claim to be a builder (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A seller dealing with the firm is arranging a sourced direct sale, and the protections above come from that direct structure.
Methodology and limitations
Every rate in this illustration comes from the research ledger: commission at 5 percent to 6 percent, seller closing costs at 1 percent to 2 percent, transfer tax at 8.60 dollars per 1,000 dollars, inspection credits of 12,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars, and carrying costs of 4,000 dollars to 7,000 dollars a month (National Association of Realtors, 2025) (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Those rates were stated in the source material at a 700,000 dollar benchmark and have been scaled here to 1,500,000 dollars by direct multiplication, which the text labels as an illustration wherever the scaled figures appear. The Birmingham context comes from a 15 home sample inside a 189 neighborhood study (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
The limitations follow from that method. No survey of actual 1,500,000 dollar Birmingham settlements was performed, mortgage balances and tax bases are personal to each seller, and no tax computation is attempted beyond the sourced Section 121 exclusion figures (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). Inspection exposure at this price is carried across from the older home range in the ledger and may overstate or understate a specific property. Sellers should rebuild the illustration with their own payoff figure and basis before treating any remainder as spendable money.
Conclusion
Scaled honestly, a 1,500,000 dollar Birmingham sale leaves 1,380,000 dollars to 1,410,000 dollars after commission and closing costs alone, and an illustrated 1,308,000 dollars to 1,386,000 dollars once typical inspection and carrying exposure for an older home is included, before mortgage payoff and tax (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The seller keeps the price minus a structure of percentages, and knowing that structure in advance is the advantage. For an illustration built from your own figures, call 401-219-4207.
If a buyer offered you a lower headline price with none of the percentage lines attached, at what exact figure would that offer quietly put more money in your account than the higher priced listing?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 12,900 dollar transfer tax added on top of closing costs?
No. The transfer tax computed from the 8.60 dollars per 1,000 dollars rate sits inside the seller closing cost band of 1 percent to 2 percent, which scales to 15,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars at this price (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Adding it twice is the most common error in home made proceeds estimates.
Why is the illustrated net given as a range instead of one figure?
Because every major line is itself a range, from commission at 5 percent to 6 percent to carrying costs at 4,000 dollars to 7,000 dollars a month (National Association of Realtors, 2025) (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A single point figure would pretend to a precision the sourced rates do not support.
Does the Section 121 exclusion reduce the price I need to worry about?
The exclusion works on gain, not on price. Qualifying sellers can exclude 250,000 dollars of gain as single filers or 500,000 dollars as joint filers, and Michigan then taxes remaining gain as ordinary income at the state flat rate (Internal Revenue Service, 2026) (State of Michigan Department of Treasury, 2026). Basis and filing status decide the personal result.
How does Proposal A affect a sale at this value?
It affects the buyer after the sale, because taxable value uncaps toward assessed value in the year following transfer, raising the buyer future tax bill (State of Michigan, 2026). City assessment records hold the assessed values behind that calculation, and buyers at this price level commonly raise the subject during negotiation (City of Birmingham, 2026).
What should I verify before accepting a direct offer near this price?
Require proof of funds in the buyer own name dated within 30 days, earnest money of 1 percent or more, and a contract in the name that closes (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Confirm recorded prior closings for that entity in county deed records before relying on the timeline in the offer (Oakland County Register of Deeds, 2026).
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder acquisition sample: 15 homes sampled in 48009, 15 acquired by builders, average older home price 20.3 percent of new build. Market data.
- City of Birmingham, 2026. Assessment and permit records, Birmingham MI. Official record.
- Oakland County Register of Deeds, 2026. Deed and buyer-entity records for residential transactions. Official record.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Typical seller commission structures, Detroit metro market. Industry report.
- Redfin, 2026. Sold, for-sale, and new-construction listings, ZIP code 48009, Birmingham MI. Market data.
- Michigan Realtors, 2025. Market data on new construction and closing timelines, Southeast Michigan. Industry report.
- Michigan Legislature, 2026. Seller Disclosure Act, MCL 565.951 et seq.: written disclosure statement required for 1-4 unit residential transfers. Official record.
- State of Michigan, 2026. Proposal A taxable-value uncapping on transfer of ownership. Official record.
- State of Michigan Department of Treasury, 2026. Individual income tax treatment of capital gains. Government data.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2026. Topic No. 701, Sale of Your Home. Government data.