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Home › Real Estate Agent Fees › Conveyancing Costs – 2025 Comprehensive Fees Guide
Property is a fiddly business. The quest for obtaining, selling, or transferring property from one person to another is steeped in many processes and laws. More often than not, the average person doesn’t have the skills or time to decipher and follow these processes to ensure a secure property transfer – so they’ll pay a professional conveyancer to help them along the way. The question is: how much should they be paying for this service, and what does it involve?
To lessen the stress, just ask a real estate agent, they can explain the process and recommend conveyancers. Compare top-performing agents using our free services quickly using our online form tool here.
Table of Contents
Conveyancing covers the legal and statutory process of transferring real estate ownership from one person to another. Conveyancing involves the preparation, execution and lodgement of various legal documents to enable a swift and legal sale. Typically there are 3 phases; preparation of sale contract, the exchange of contracts and completion.
To get a grasp of what is involved in conveyancing, have a look at the video below.
By definition, conveyancing is:
Conveyancing also branches out into:
From construction to history of ownership, these searches present an overall picture of the property’s value, condition, and any legal ramifications attached to these assets. The conveyancer’s job is to:
You can seek conveyancing services from:
Many solicitors practice as conveyancers. Their understanding of legal processes and documents such as the Sale of Land Act involved in transferring land and property from one person to another makes them ideal for advising property owners and buyers of the requirements involved.
While homeowners and potential buyers aren’t legally obliged to transfer property sales through a conveyancer, many of them find it very worth their while to do so. The advice and guidance from such professionals does cost – but it’s a small price to pay for the security of the transfer of titles and funds.
The conveyancing costs on a property depends on its unique condition and circumstances. An expert conveyancer can give you an accurate assessment of the processes involved for the particular property you’re interested in buying or selling, helping you to ensure a smooth sale or purchase.
There are a number of legal, financial, and construction factors involved when looking at property. Conveyancers bridge all three areas; so their services span a variety of activities.
These activities can be grouped into three areas:
Conveyancing fees related to property involve a collection of services. These services commonly include:
Conveyancing involves a transaction involving four parties:
If the buyer and seller each hire a conveyancer to represent them in the sale of property, then the conveyancers will deal with each other in the interests of their respective clients.
They will be compensated for securing the property transfer from:
Keep in mind that conveyancing fees are just one of the costs associated with selling a property. You also need to consider marketing costs and the agent’s selling commission. To better understand these fees speak with the top performing agents in your suburb.
What’s more; each state has its own fees and laws around property transfer. We’ve laid out the key differences to help you navigate the territory below.
Property is highly desirable everywhere in Australia; but New South Wales has been a tough market. With high prices, many potential homeowners are looking to cut costs where they can. For some, this may mean attempting to navigate the purchase or sale of property on their own.
For the layman, this is a difficult process, and could cost far more money than it saves.
Kaylee Wadderick, President of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (New South Wales Division) , says:
“A buyer should consult a conveyancer before they sign a contract or before they start negotiating the purchase of a property, just to make sure they’ve got everything in line”.
For these reasons, the vast majority of home buyers and owners are happy to pay for the secure sale of purchase of property by engaging a conveyancer. The conveyancer’s fees can vary greatly depending on the tasks involved. While they aren’t standardised throughout the state, clients are entitled to transparency for their conveyancer’s fees.
As Fair Trading NSW points out, when dealing with a conveyancer, you’re entitled to:
Sydney is known for its competitive and high-priced property market. Securing property is a highly desirable, yet challenging feat, and it’s common to engage a conveyancer to help boost success in the process.
Conveyancer’s fees in Sydney can often charged as:
The most common fee charge is through a percentage of the total sale or purchase price. These prices are secured during the settlement period, where the sales contract is signed.
Generally, the total cost of a conveyancer in Sydney or New South Wales ranges from $1000 to $2500. There are also additional disbursement costs for charges that may be incurred by the conveyancer for you (sourced from the Australian Institute of Conveyancers NSW Division Ltd (AICNSW)):
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Melbourne is considered one of the world’s auction capitals. As such, it’s important to understand how buying a house in the auction differs from a private sale. In such situations, it is particularly important to engage a conveyancer that will understand the rules and laws around property purchases through auction.
LawHelp Australiaagrees with this process; highlighting the importance of a conveyancer’s counsel and expertise in the purchase and sale of property.
While there are no regulations on conveyancing fees, Consumer Affairs Victoria outlines the legal conveyancers fee disclosure requirements, where:
They also need to provide clients with invoices, and state how and when the invoices will be provided.
In Melbourne and surrounding Victoria, the conveyancing fee ranges from $600 to $1400, depending on the value of the property, type of property and if you opt for a conveyancer or a solicitor. Additionally, disbursement costs may be incurred by the conveyancer as they research your property and relevant legal requirements, e.g. for title searches or council requirements. Disbursement costs in Victoria generally run under $400 dollars.
Unlike Melbourne and Sydney, Brisbane’s house prices have not reached soaring heights. The market in Queensland may not be as dynamic and volatile as in other states; but it enjoys steady activity.
Like elsewhere, homeowners and buyers seek conveyancers to help navigate and secure their property purchase or sale. It’s common for conveyancers fees throughout the state to be charged as:
The Queensland Government breaks down the purchasing process into 3 stages:
Conveyancer’s fees can incur at any and all of these stages. Settlement is the final step within the transfer of title and funds, The title and funds are transferred immediately when notified to secure the transaction, and complete the sale.
Conveyancing fees in Queensland often range between $500 to $1300. There may be additional charges for disbursement fees, these are charges incurred by the conveyancer for title searches, council/water rate searches and similar processes. These disbursement fees vary but generally stay under $300.
A disbursement fee is a legal fee outside the standard conveyancing fees. Disbursement fees are charged on top of the standard conveyancing fees, for services such as:
Disbursement charges are generally higher than the standard conveyancing costs as they are usually outside the scope of the conveyancer’s practice. They are charges that the conveyancer has had to outsource in order to reach new information, or an end result; and which are included in their work in helping the client buy, sell, or transfer property titles.
Conveyancing is a complex process.
Asking your conveyancer the right questions will help assure you of their expertise, and prepare you for the processes involved. They’ll be able to give you an accurate idea of the costs involved in conveyancing, and help you understand what these costs are covering.
Some general questions that are useful for gaining insight into costs and processes involves:
More detailed questions will be tailored to your case and situation, and can involve a multitude of areas. Doing some basic research on property areas such as :
This research will help you ask the right questions for your conveyancer, and ensure that the conveyancing process is suited to your needs and situation, helping the transfer run smoothly.
Real estate agents work closely with conveyancers and solicitors and intimately know who are the better conveyancers in the local area. They work closely with both buyer and seller and conveyancers to ensure every transaction successfully settles. Agents only get paid after settlement, so it is in their interest that the whole transaction is smooth and stress-free.
Contact top local agents today for expert guidance on how to sell your home and the different conveyancers you should consider using our free service that compares top-performing agents in your area.
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