Seller Closing Costs in Rhode Island: 2024 Update

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By Jon Stubbs Updated November 1, 2024

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

Average seller closing costs in Rhode Island are 2.76% of the home's purchase price.  For a $467,485 home — the median value in Rhode Island — you'd pay around $12,911.

Typical seller closing costs in Rhode Island include the title and closing service fees, owner's title insurance policy, real estate transfer tax, and recording fees on the closing date. Optional closing costs for sellers include buyer incentives, the prorated property tax bill, or real estate attorney fees.

Do sellers pay closing costs?

Sellers are usually responsible for most of, but not all the closing costs. Buyer closing costs include mortgage-related costs such as a loan origination fee and other lender-related fees, private mortgage insurance, the down payment, an appraisal fee, and a home inspection fee.

Learn more about buyer closing costs in Rhode Island.

How much are seller closing costs in Rhode Island?

Seller closing costs are fees and taxes you pay during the final real estate transaction on the sale of your home in Rhode Island. The seller typically pays 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 Rhode Island are 5.25%, which works out to $24,543 for the median home price in the state.

Home sellers typically pay for agent fees for both their listing agent and the buyer's agent out of their sale proceeds. This way, neither side has to bring extra cash to close.

However, since the 2024 NAR settlement, sellers and buyers negotiate rates with their own agents separately. In Rhode Island, the average listing agent fee is 2.68%, while the average buyer's agent fee is 2.57%.

But you don't have to pay the full 5.25% to a traditional agent. Instead, you can use Clever to match with a discount broker to save as much as 32% on realtor fees, or about $7,854 on average in Rhode Island.

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Rhode Island seller average closing costs breakdown

Title service fees: 0.11%

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 Rhode Island, 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: 0.17%

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 Rhode Island, it's more common for the seller to pay for owner's title insurance.

If you do pay part of the bill, owner's title insurance usually costs around 0.17% of a Rhode Island home's final sale price — or $811 for a $467,485 home. However, title companies in Rhode Island often use tiered pricing to determine how much you'll pay for a policy based on your home's value.

» 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 Rhode Island, 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.

Conveyance tax: 0.40%

Rhode Island charges you about 0.4% of your home's sale price to transfer the title to the new owner. If you sell for Rhode Island's median home value — $467,485 — you'd pay $1,870.

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 Rhode Island

Rhode Island recording fees: 0.01%

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 $51 in Rhode Island — 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 Rhode Island comes to about $9,350.

Don't forget about property taxes!

When you sell a home in Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island is 1.57%, but this can vary quite a bit depending on your county.

For instance, Providence County has the highest property tax rate in the state at 1.79%. Meanwhile, Newport County residents have the lowest property tax rate at just 1.22%.

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

Real estate commissions: 5.25%

In addition to the 2.76% closing costs, sellers will need to budget for real estate agent commissions, which average 5.25% in Rhode Island. This includes a listing agent commission of 2.68% and a buyer's agent commission of 2.57%.

Will the NAR lawsuit change how real estate commission works?

After losing a lawsuit over their practices in 2024, the National Association of Realtors agreed to change how real estate professionals do business.

As of August 2024, buyer's agents are required to sign an "agency agreement" before providing services to a buyer. This agreement has to specify what services the agent will provide, and how much they will get paid.

Real estate agents are no longer allowed to split commissions with one another. In the past, it was common for a listing agent to collect a 6% fee from the seller, and then split this fee with a buyer's agent who brought a buyer. Going forward, buyer's agents will have to negotiate their fee directly with the buyer they represent.

Learn more about how the lawsuit will impact buyers and sellers.

Other Rhode Island closing fees for sellers

Every Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island home:

  • Homeowners Association (HOA) fees
  • Mortgage payoff and/or prepayment penalty
  • Property appraisal fees (averages $176)
  • Attorney fees (optional in Rhode Island, averages $302)

» 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 Rhode Island 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.

💰 Compare hand-picked agents, list for 1.5%

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.

Rhode Island closing costs calculator

Use our tool to calculate estimated closing costs for Rhode Island.

How to save on Rhode Island closing costs

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

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 Rhode Island, real estate commission costs an average of $24,543 — 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 32% on realtor commission in Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island 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 October 2024
  • Transfer taxes and mortgage taxes: Based on public data as of February 2024.

Authors & Editorial History

Our experts continually research, evaluate, and monitor real estate companies and industry trends. We update our articles when new information becomes available.

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