Applying the documented Southampton percentages at this price, which is the method this report uses throughout, a seller at 1,500,000 dollars keeps about 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars after commission and seller closing costs, before repair credits, carrying costs, and any mortgage payoff (National Association of Realtors, 2025; Frontier Capitals, 2026). The arithmetic is direct: commission at the typical 5 to 6 percent is 75,000 to 90,000 dollars at this price, seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent add 15,000 to 30,000 dollars, and the combined deduction of 6 to 8 percent is 90,000 to 120,000 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Those are the documented 2,000,000 dollar ledger rates applied at 1,500,000 dollars, stated as arithmetic on the documented rates rather than as a separate surveyed figure.
Key Findings
- Commission at the documented 5 to 6 percent is 75,000 to 90,000 dollars on a 1,500,000 dollar sale, by arithmetic on the documented rate (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- Seller closing costs at the documented 1 to 2 percent add 15,000 to 30,000 dollars at this price, for a combined deduction of 90,000 to 120,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- After those two layers, the seller keeps roughly 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars before repair credits, carrying costs, and mortgage payoff (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- Repair credits of 25,000 to 75,000 dollars, documented as routine on 60 year old cottages, can reduce the kept amount further in a listed sale (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- New York transfer tax at 2 dollars per 500 dollars of consideration is 6,000 dollars at this price, inside the closing cost band (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, 2026).
How is the kept amount calculated at this price?
The calculation has three steps, and each step uses a documented rate. Step one is commission. The research ledger records typical total commission of 5 to 6 percent, worth 100,000 to 120,000 dollars on its 2,000,000 dollar worked example (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Applying the same percentages to 1,500,000 dollars gives 75,000 to 90,000 dollars. Nothing about the rate changes at the lower price; only the base changes, and this report says plainly that the 1,500,000 dollar commission figure is that arithmetic, not a separate survey of 1,500,000 dollar sales. Inside the total, the buyer agent share has averaged 2.40 percent in national commission reporting, largely unchanged since the settlement period, so sellers should not expect the total to compress at this price point (Redfin, 2025).
Step two is seller closing costs. The documented band is 1 to 2 percent for title, transfer, and proration items, worth 20,000 to 40,000 dollars on the 2,000,000 dollar example (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At 1,500,000 dollars the same band is 15,000 to 30,000 dollars. The transfer tax component is fixed by formula at 2 dollars per 500 dollars of consideration, which is 6,000 dollars at this price (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, 2026). The disclosure framework adds its small standard item, a disclosure statement or a 500 dollar credit at closing (New York State Department of State, 2026).
Context helps a seller read those percentages correctly. A price of 1,500,000 dollars sits well below the documented range for new construction on standard lots in this ZIP code, which runs from 3,500,000 to 8,000,000 dollars, so a home selling at this level is almost by definition an older home whose buyer is pricing land, condition, or both rather than finished space (Redfin, 2026). That position is exactly where the sample evidence is strongest, since the study surveyed pre-1981 homes and recorded builders acquiring 13 of the 16 in 11968 (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The seller at this price is therefore not choosing between abstract routes. The choice is between paying the full listed cost stack to reach a mixed buyer pool, or presenting the property to the buyer class the sample shows doing most of the purchasing, with the deduction lines removed. The percentages in this report are the same either way; what changes is whether they are charged.
Step three is subtraction. A price of 1,500,000 dollars minus combined deductions of 90,000 to 120,000 dollars leaves 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars. That is the kept amount at the closing statement level, before the two items the statement does not capture, repair credits already negotiated into the price and the carrying costs already paid during the marketing period. The full ledger from which these rates come is set out in the analysis of how much it costs to sell a house in Southampton, and the closing band is separated item by item in the companion piece on closing costs Southampton sellers typically pay.
What reduces the kept amount beyond the closing statement?
Repair credits are the first reduction. On 60 year old cottages, credits and post inspection price reductions of 25,000 to 75,000 dollars are documented as routine, and that range is driven by the age and systems of the house rather than by its price, so this report does not scale it down for a 1,500,000 dollar sale (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A seller who agrees a 1,500,000 dollar price and then concedes a mid range credit keeps closer to 1,330,000 to 1,360,000 dollars after all three layers, again by arithmetic on the documented ranges. Sellers who disclose condition fully and price the house as it stands concede less at this stage, because the inspection holds fewer surprises.
Carrying costs are the second reduction, and they are the least visible because they are paid monthly rather than deducted at closing. The research documents a full year of carrying costs at the 2,000,000 dollar level at 80,000 to 150,000 dollars, covering mortgage or equity opportunity cost, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and very high property taxes (Frontier Capitals, 2026). No separate carrying figure for a 1,500,000 dollar Southampton home exists in the research, and this report does not invent one; the honest statement is that a 1,500,000 dollar seller pays the same categories of cost, on a somewhat smaller equity base, for every month the sale takes. Because the Southampton market clears overwhelmingly between Memorial Day and Labor Day, a listing that misses the season can stretch those monthly costs across a full year (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
The third reduction is the mortgage payoff, which is entirely seller specific. A seller with no mortgage keeps the full statement amount subject to the items above. A seller with a balance outstanding keeps the statement amount minus that balance, and jumbo underwriting standards tracked in the Federal Reserve senior loan officer survey shape how readily a financed buyer can perform on the other side of the transaction (Federal Reserve, 2026). Mortgage rate conditions in the Primary Mortgage Market Survey for October 2026 frame the same point from the buyer side: financed purchases at Southampton price levels are rate sensitive, and rate sensitive buyers renegotiate or withdraw more often than cash buyers (Freddie Mac, 2026). Nationally, roughly 15 percent of pending sales fell out of contract in late 2025, and the typical sold home spent 46 days on market in the 2026 update (Redfin, 2025; Redfin, 2026).
How does the kept amount compare with a direct sale at the same price?
A direct sale at 1,500,000 dollars removes the two statement layers this report has been applying. The seller experience also changes in kind: the process runs privately with zero showings and zero open houses, which in Southampton keeps the sale off the village social circuit until the deed records (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The closing follows the seller calendar, in 7 to 21 days when speed matters or months out with a leaseback when the household needs time, rather than a full selling season that accumulates carrying costs (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
On the numbers, the direct seller pays no commission, which at this price is the 75,000 to 90,000 dollar line computed above (National Association of Realtors, 2025). The direct seller also pays no seller closing costs of the 1 to 2 percent band, another 15,000 to 30,000 dollars at this price, so the combined 90,000 to 120,000 dollar deduction simply does not occur (National Association of Realtors, 2025). And because the sale is as is, there is no inspection negotiation and no 10,000 to 30,000 dollar repair credits, let alone the wider 25,000 to 75,000 dollar range the listed ledger records on older cottages (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The direct seller therefore keeps an amount much closer to the headline price, reduced by the documented taxes and prorations the contract allocates and by any mortgage payoff.
Timing deserves a separate word at this price point, because the kept amount is partly a function of the calendar. A seller who lists in spring and closes in season pays a few months of carrying costs; a seller who lists at the same price and misses the season pays toward a full year of them, at documented Southampton levels that rank among the highest tax and insurance burdens in the country (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The direct route compresses that exposure in either direction the seller prefers: a closing in 7 to 21 days stops the monthly outflow almost immediately, while a closing months out with a leaseback lets the household choose its own moving date without paying for a marketing period first (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At 1,500,000 dollars the absolute dollars at stake in that choice are smaller than at the top of the market, but the share of the kept amount they represent is the same, and for many sellers at this level the sale funds a specific next purchase whose budget is set by the kept figure, not by the headline price.
Two cautions keep the comparison honest. First, a direct price and a listed price for the same house may differ, because the buyer classes value the property differently; the sample records builders acquiring 13 of 16 pre-1981 homes in 11968, which is why the direct price for an older home here is a land based figure with its own logic (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Second, the worksheets only compare cleanly when both sides use net figures. The step by step method is laid out in the guide to calculating net proceeds from a Southampton sale, and sellers should run both routes through it before deciding.
What should a seller at this price verify before trusting a kept amount?
The first verification is about who is presenting the number. Frontier Capitals is a wholesaler that sources off market deals to builders; it does not claim to be a builder, and it presents net figures on the documented rates so a seller can reproduce the arithmetic. Any buyer or firm presenting a kept amount should be able to show the same working, line by line, on request.
The documented buyer checks come next. Proof of funds in the buyer name dated within the last 30 days confirms the buyer can fund the price the worksheet assumes, and a pre approval or a private lender letter does not meet that test (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Recorded deeds in the buyer entity name, checkable in county records, confirm completed purchases at a comparable level (Suffolk County Clerk, 2026). A contract with no assignment clause and earnest money of typically 1 percent or more, forfeited on a walk away, protects the closing date the worksheet assumes; an assignment clause with a token deposit marks a contract never meant to close (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Attorney review completes the verification, because New York residential contracts run on attorney review and contingency standards, and the allocation of taxes, prorations, and the disclosure credit is settled in that review (New York State Association of Realtors, 2026). A seller whose contract matches the worksheet, whose buyer passes the funds and deed checks, and whose taxes match the state formula has a kept amount that can be relied on. Sellers can begin that process through the contact page with no obligation to proceed.
Methodology and limitations
This report answers by arithmetic on documented rates, and it states that method plainly because the research ledger is worked at 2,000,000 dollars rather than at 1,500,000 dollars. The commission band of 5 to 6 percent, the seller closing band of 1 to 2 percent, and the combined band of 6 to 8 percent are the documented figures (National Association of Realtors, 2025; Frontier Capitals, 2026). Applied to 1,500,000 dollars they produce commission of 75,000 to 90,000 dollars and combined deductions of 90,000 to 120,000 dollars. Repair credit ranges are documented for older cottages generally and are not scaled by price in this report. No carrying cost figure for a 1,500,000 dollar home exists in the research, so none is stated; the documented 2,000,000 dollar carrying range is cited as a category guide only. The underlying market sample is the Frontier Capitals sample for 11968: 16 pre-1981 homes, 13 acquired by builders (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Conclusion
A seller who closes a listed Southampton sale at 1,500,000 dollars keeps roughly 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars after the documented commission and closing deductions of 90,000 to 120,000 dollars, before repair credits, carrying costs, and any mortgage payoff reduce the amount further (National Association of Realtors, 2025). A direct sale at the same price keeps the amount those deductions would have taken, which is why the comparison between routes matters more at this price than the negotiation over small price movements.
Sellers who want the worksheet run on their own figures can call 401-219-4207 or email [email protected]. The arithmetic is quick, the rates are documented, and the answer is stated as a range rather than a promise.
When a seller hears a price of 1,500,000 dollars, at what point in the process do they usually learn the amount they will actually keep, and what would change if they learned it first?
Frequently Asked Questions
How much commission is paid on a 1,500,000 dollar Southampton sale?
At the documented typical rate of 5 to 6 percent, commission is 75,000 to 90,000 dollars at this price, by arithmetic on the documented rate (National Association of Realtors, 2025). The buyer agent share inside that total averaged 2.40 percent in early 2025 national reporting (Redfin, 2025).
What is the exact amount a seller keeps at this price?
After commission and seller closing costs, the kept amount is roughly 1,380,000 to 1,410,000 dollars, being the price minus combined deductions of 90,000 to 120,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Repair credits, carrying costs, and any mortgage payoff reduce it from there.
How much transfer tax applies at 1,500,000 dollars?
The state transfer tax is 2 dollars per 500 dollars of consideration, which is 6,000 dollars at this price (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, 2026). It sits inside the seller closing cost band of 1 to 2 percent.
Do repair credits shrink because the price is lower?
No. The documented range of 25,000 to 75,000 dollars reflects the age and systems of 60 year old cottages rather than their price, so this report applies it unscaled (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The disclosure obligation is met by a statement or a 500 dollar credit at closing (New York State Department of State, 2026).
How does a financed buyer affect the seller kept amount?
Rate and underwriting conditions affect whether financed buyers perform: jumbo underwriting standards are tracked in the Federal Reserve survey, and rate conditions in the Freddie Mac survey for October 2026 (Federal Reserve, 2026; Freddie Mac, 2026). A fallout returns the seller to the market with the carrying costs still running.
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder acquisition sample: 16 homes sampled in 11968, 13 acquired by builders, average older home price 23.3 percent of new build. Market data.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Typical seller commission structures, Hamptons market. Industry report.
- Redfin, 2025. National market data, late 2025: median days on market 51; roughly 15 percent of pending sales fall out of contract; investors purchased 17 percent of U.S. homes in Q3 2025. Market data.
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, 2026. Real estate transfer tax and mansion tax guidance. Official record.
- New York State Department of State, 2026. Property condition disclosure requirements for residential sales. Official record.
- New York State Association of Realtors, 2026. Residential contract customs: attorney review and contingency standards. Industry report.
- Redfin, 2026. Recently sold homes and new construction, ZIP code 11968, Southampton NY. Market data.
- Suffolk County Clerk, 2026. Recorded deeds and parcel records, Southampton NY. Official record.
- Freddie Mac, 2026. Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage results for October 2026. Market data.
- Federal Reserve, 2026. Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey: jumbo mortgage underwriting standards. Government data.