Houston · Updated September 2026
What it costs to list your house with Alan Hernandez
Most agents will not put this number on a web page. Here is mine, in full, with the arithmetic at three price points — 4% to list, plus a $500 brokerage fee, and a buyer-agent side that is negotiated separately and can be zero.
What does Alan Hernandez charge to list a home?
4% of the sale price, plus a $500 brokerage fee, paid at closing. If the home does not sell, you owe neither.
And it is negotiable. That is my standard cost for most listings, published so you can compare it honestly against anyone else you interview — but the fee moves with the price point and the scope of work. A higher-priced home, a portfolio of several properties, or a listing that needs less of the package are all conversations worth having, and I would rather have them out loud than have you assume the number is fixed.
That covers everything I do to sell it: professional photography and drone, the 3D walkthrough and video, a dedicated website for your property, paid advertising, print collateral, the staging consult, 24/7 AI call answering, and the negotiation itself. None of it is invoiced to you along the way.
“Alan’s team consists of top-tier professionals. Having worked with them on buying and selling multiple properties, I can confidently say they are incredible on both sides of the deal… While their fees might be a bit higher upfront, you ultimately save an immense amount of money, time, and energy — heavy on the MONEY side! They are masters of negotiation and truly know the market. Do not try to cut corners with cheap, subpar realtors; investing in this team saves you so much more in the end.”
I did not put that on the page because it flatters me. I put it there because it is the honest counter-argument to a published rate: the cheapest listing agreement in Houston and the most profitable sale are almost never the same piece of paper. Judge me on the net sheet, not the percentage.
What about the buyer's agent — who pays that?
Separate, negotiated on every file, and typically 1–3%. If I find the buyer myself and they have no agent, you pay zero on that side.
Since the 2024 settlement changes, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately from the listing side and can no longer be advertised in the MLS. That does not mean it disappears. Buyer agents ask their clients to cover it, and those clients routinely ask the seller to cover it back inside the offer — so it turns up in the negotiation either way. The only question is whether anyone is negotiating it on your behalf.
I do, on every transaction, and I show you what buyer agents in your price band are actually asking for before you decide.
So what is the total, in dollars?
Between 4% and 7% of the sale price plus $500, depending entirely on what happens on the buyer's side.
| Sale price | Unrepresented buyer | Buyer agent 1% | Buyer agent 2% | Buyer agent 3% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $10,500 | $13,000 | $15,500 | $18,000 |
| $350,000 | $14,500 | $18,000 | $21,500 | $25,000 |
| $500,000 | $20,500 | $25,500 | $30,500 | $35,500 |
Read the spread across each row rather than the first column. On a $350,000 house the buyer-agent side alone swings $10,500. That is the part most sellers never see negotiated, and it is worth more than the difference between one agent's listing rate and another's.
What else do I pay at closing?
Costs that are not ours and that we do not control — usually another 1–2% of the sale price in Texas.
- Owner's title policy — customarily the seller's cost in most of the Houston area, and it scales with price.
- Escrow, closing and recording fees charged by the title company.
- Survey, if your existing one is not acceptable to the buyer's lender.
- Property taxes, prorated to the closing date — in Texas this is rarely a small line.
- HOA transfer and resale certificate, where there is an association.
- Your loan payoff, plus any liens.
- Seller concessions and repair credits, if you agree to them in the negotiation.
You get all of it on a written net sheet from me before you sign a listing agreement, and an updated one with every offer. The net sheet is what you should judge an agent on — not the commission line. A lower rate that produces a lower sale price and higher concessions is not a saving.
Are there marketing fees, admin fees, or a cancellation fee?
No marketing fees, no admin fees. One cancellation fee of $2,400, and only if you end the listing early — and it hands you the media to keep.
I fund the entire marketing package up front and never bill it back during the listing. If the listing runs its term without selling, you owe nothing at all.
If you cancel early, the $2,400 reimburses money already spent on your house — and you keep what it paid for: all professional photography at full resolution including the drone set, the 3D walkthrough and video, the property website, and the listing copy in English and Spanish, yours for the rest of the term you originally signed. A seller who cancels almost anywhere else starts from zero, because the photos belonged to the brokerage. Here your next agent can relist the same week.
Could I owe a commission if the house never sells?
Only in three narrow situations, and you should know all three before signing with anybody.
- The protection period — mine is 90 days. If a buyer introduced during the listing comes back and buys shortly after it ends, commission is owed. Ask every agent you interview for that number; some run 180 days and rarely volunteer it.
- You accept an offer and then don't close for a reason within your control.
- You sell it yourself during the term without a written exclusion — which is why anyone you are already talking to gets named as an exclusion at signing.
My minimum listing term is 6 months, because the marketing spend and the agent-to-agent outreach are funded up front and the compounding part happens well past week four. What keeps that from being a trap is the paragraph above: you can end it at any point for $2,400.
This is a plain-English summary of how the standard Texas listing agreement works, not legal advice. I read the actual paragraphs with you, line by line, before you sign.
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How long is the minimum listing term?
Straight answer Six months. The photography, advertising and agent-to-agent outreach are funded up front, and the compounding part of that work happens well past week four — a 90-day listing asks me to spend the money without the time to earn it back. You can still end the agreement at any point for the $2,400 cancellation fee described above, so the term is a floor on the marketing spend, not a lock on you.
See your actual number, not a percentage
The commission line is not the number that matters. What lands in your account is.
Everything else a listing agent should answer
Fees are four of the twenty questions worth asking. The Houston Listing Plan answers all twenty in writing — how the list price is set from closed comps, the full marketing plan, the price-adjustment cadence, showing feedback, cash versus financed offers, and a day-by-day 30-day plan. There is a printable checklist of the questions to take to every listing appointment.