Selling a home in Los Angeles, Orange counties can cost 121% more than U.S. average

Homeowners in Los Angeles and Orange counties face selling expenses 121% above what a typical deal costs nationwide, according to one study.

Zillow, the real estate analyst that’s become a property buyer recently, studied the costs of home selling in 35 big U.S. markets — estimating both transaction costs (such as commissions and state transfer taxes), marketing and other expenses usually incurred (such as carpet cleaning, interior/exterior painting, home cleaning, lawn care, staging and local moving).

My trusty spreadsheet compared these costs with the national average as well as regional selling prices.

Remember, since many transaction expenses are cost-based, high home prices inflate the selling costs — and some of that spending filters its way back to what buyers pay. Here’s how home sellers in Los Angeles and Orange counties ranked, by this math …

1. Total sales costs: Typical seller pays $46,060 — No. 3 highest among the 35 metros — and 121% above $20,851 nationally. High? San Jose at $83,770. Low? St. Louis at $13,704.

2. Closing costs: Seller pays $39,880 to make a common transaction happen — No. 3 highest among the 35 metros — and 179% above $14,281 nationally. High? San Jose at $76,015 then San Francisco at $58,534. Low? Cleveland at $9,046.

3. Prepping a home for sale: $6,180 — No. 9 highest among the 35 metros — and 6% below $6,570 nationally. High? Sacramento at $7,840. Low? St. Louis at $3,690.

4. Sales price: $652,700 — No. 3 highest among the 35 metros — and 189% above $225,600 nationally. High? San Jose at $1,244,100. Low? Pittsburgh at $144,200.

5. Cost ratio: Considering high local home prices, total selling costs look low on a percentage of price basis. The expense of a sale runs 7.1% of price locally — third lowest among the 35 metros — and below the average of 9.2% nationally. High? Pittsburgh at 10.3%. Low? San Jose at 6.7%.