Seller Closing Costs in Louisiana: 2024 Update

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By Jon Stubbs Updated March 1, 2024

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Cost breakdown | Louisiana seller closing costs calculator | Save with a discount broker | Methodology

For sellers, average closing costs in Louisiana are 3.29% of the home's final purchase price.  For a $192,173 home — the median home value in Louisiana — you'd pay around $6,329.

Louisiana home sellers' typical closing costs include the title and closing service fees, owner's title insurance policy, real estate transfer tax, and recording fees at closing. Optional costs for sellers include buyer incentives, the prorated property tax bill, or real estate attorney fees.

Home buyer closing costs in Louisiana include mortgage-related closing costs such as a loan application fee and other processing fees, an appraisal fee, and a home inspection fee.

How much are seller closing costs in Louisiana?

Seller closing costs are fees and taxes you pay during the final real estate transaction on the sale of your home in Louisiana. These include the costs of verifying and transferring ownership to the buyer, so most closing costs are unavoidable.

On top of these closing costs, you'll need to pay realtor fees. Average realtor fees in Louisiana are 5.56%, which works out to $10,685 for the median home price in the state.

As you can see, realtor commission fees are usually the biggest selling expense in Louisiana — and they're nearly always paid by the seller.

But you don't have to pay the full 5.56% to a traditional agent. Instead, you can use Clever to match with a discount broker to save as much as 24% on realtor fees, or about $2,554 on average in Louisiana.

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Louisiana seller closing costs breakdown

Title service fees: 0.56%

Title fees cover the costs of the title search and title transfer.

When you sell your home, you have to transfer legal ownership of the property to the buyer. To ensure there are no claims or liens on your home, your settlement agent will complete a title search.

In Louisiana, buyers and sellers usually pay for their own title company or closing agent, but don't expect this for every sale. Ask your realtor if you're not sure.

Owner's title insurance: N/A

Owner's title insurance protects the buyer if there's a problem with the property title. It will pay for any legal fees if mistakes are found — or potentially even reimburse the value of the home.

In Louisiana, it's more common for the buyer to pay for owner's title insurance.

However, it's always possible to negotiate who pays what.

» MORE: What is title insurance, and why do you need it?

Lender's title insurance: N/A

Just like owner's title insurance protects the buyer, lender's title insurance protects the bank or financial institution that issued the buyer a mortgage.

In Louisiana, the buyer usually pays for lender's title insurance, so you're off the hook. Still, it's always possible the buyer will try to get you to pay for this in negotiations, so make sure you have a quality real estate agent looking out for your best interests.

Transfer Taxes: N/A

Good news — Louisiana doesn't charge a transfer tax for transferring your home's title to its new owner. Still, you might not be completely off the hook.

Some cities and counties also charge their own transfer taxes. Check with your realtor and title company to see what taxes you'll owe in your area.

» FIND: Learn more about transfer taxes in Louisiana

Louisiana recording fees: 0.03%

Your city or county will charge a recording fee to legally record your property's deed and mortgage information. The exact amount will vary based on your location, but you can expect to pay around $50 in Louisiana — although you might be able to negotiate for the buyer to cover this cost.

Buyer incentives: 2%

Buyer incentives can help you secure a sale in tough markets by making it easier or more appealing for a buyer to purchase your property. You can pay some of the buyer's closing costs, offer repair credits, or include valuable items in the sale of the home.

The average amount sellers spend on buyer incentives in Louisiana comes to about $3,843.

Don't forget about property taxes!

When you sell a home in Louisiana, you'll still have to pay property taxes for the months you owned the property. Using this prorated system, you won't be on the hook for the full 12 months of taxes. However, this does make it more difficult to estimate how much you'll owe at closing.

The average property tax rate in Louisiana is 0.55%, but this can vary quite a bit depending on your county.

For instance, St. Tammany Parish has the highest property tax rate in the state at 0.81%. Meanwhile, Pointe Coupee Parish residents have the lowest property tax rate at just 0.26%.

Be sure to check with your real estate agent so you can find out exactly what you'll need to pay in property taxes.

Other Louisiana closing costs for sellers

Every Louisiana home sale is unique, and many closing costs come with a few surprise fees. Here are a few of the most common additional costs you may face selling your Louisiana home:

  • Homeowners Association (HOA) fees
  • Mortgage payoff and/or prepayment penalties
  • Property appraisal fees (averages $332)
  • Attorney fees (optional in Louisiana, averages $100)

» LEARN: The total cost of selling a house

Your realtor will have a better idea of the total closing costs you can expect to pay, depending on the Louisiana neighborhood you're selling in and other factors.

An experienced agent can do a lot more than market your property and negotiate with buyers. Top realtors — like the ones Clever partners with — will have the local knowledge necessary to maximize your profits and understand what buyers in the area are looking for in a new home.

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Get matched with the best local agents from top brokerages and get pre-negotiated listing fees of just 1.5%.

Clever's service is 100% free, with zero obligation. Interview as many agents as you like until you find the perfect fit — or walk away at any time.

Louisiana closing costs calculator

Use our tool to calculate closing costs for Louisiana.

» LEARN: Use our commission calculator to see what you'll pay in realtor fees

How to save on Louisiana closing costs

While closing costs in Louisiana aren't usually the biggest expense for sellers, there are a few ways to reduce these fees.   

Save on realtor fees

The best way to reduce your overall expenses when selling is to find a realtor who charges lower listing fees. In Louisiana, real estate commission costs an average of $10,685 — that's usually more expensive than all of your closing costs combined!

Thankfully, there's a way to save big by selling with Clever. With listing fees of just 1.5%, you'll save around 24% on realtor commission in Louisiana, providing some relief from the most expensive part of selling a home.

» SAVE: Learn more about how much a Clever agent can save you!

Negotiate for the buyer to pay

Who pays closing costs is up for negotiation. If you're selling in the middle of a hot seller's market with low housing inventory, you could ask the buyer to cover some of your closing costs.

Competition among buyers is fierce in these market conditions, so they're typically more willing to make concessions so you'll accept their offer on your Louisiana home.

When you're selling in a buyer's market, however, they'll likely ask you to make more concessions since you won't be getting as many offers.

» MORE: How to negotiate with buyers before accepting an offer

Shop around for better prices

It might be possible to save some money by shopping around for cheaper rates on services like title insurance and closing fees.

However, these costs are relatively low and tend to be fairly consistent among different companies. When you're already navigating inspections, repair requests, and appraisals, calling several different companies to find a $50 discount probably isn't worth the hassle!

Methodology

The Clever team of researchers gathered data for property taxes, transfer taxes, and recording fees using publicly available information. We found average costs for attorney fees, title insurance, and other services by requesting quotes from local providers. 

We gathered our commission rate data from a survey of 630 of our partner agents. Additionally, we utilized the following data from Zillow and Realtor.com:

  • Home values, list prices, and sale prices: Based on Zillow data as of January 2024
  • Transfer taxes and mortgage taxes: Based on public data as of February 2024.

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