How Much Will You Net Selling Your Woodland Hills Home?

By Jason Franklin | July 22, 2026

The sale price on the listing agreement isn't the number you'll see at the end of escrow. Every Woodland Hills seller I work with wants to know the same thing before we put their home on the market: what does the actual check look like?

The answer is always in the details — and the details matter a lot more than most sellers expect. Let's walk through exactly where your money goes and what you can realistically expect to keep.

The Line Items That Reduce Your Net

Your net proceeds are your sale price minus everything you owe and every cost you're responsible for at closing. Here's how each piece typically works for a Woodland Hills or West Hills seller.

Agent Commission

Historically, commission ran 5–6% split between the listing agent and the buyer's agent. The August 2024 NAR settlement changed that structure. Today, as a seller, you're responsible for paying your listing agent's commission — typically 2.5% — but you're no longer contractually obligated to offer buyer-side compensation.

In practice, most sellers in the San Fernando Valley choose to offer buyer's agent compensation anyway — usually 2% to 2.5% — because it attracts a larger pool of buyers and can make the difference in a competitive multiple-offer situation. Whether that makes sense for your specific home is a conversation to have before you list.

For a seller who offers 2.5% to their listing agent and 2.5% to the buyer's agent: that's 5% of your sale price off the top. On a $1,500,000 home, you're looking at $75,000 in total commission.

Escrow and Title Fees

California is an escrow-based closing state. An independent escrow company manages the transfer of funds and documents — and you'll pay for that service at closing. In the Woodland Hills area, escrow fees for a residential sale typically run $3,500–$5,500 depending on the sale price and the escrow company.

Title insurance is separate. The seller traditionally pays for the owner's title insurance policy that protects the buyer — expect to pay $1,500–$3,000 on a typical Woodland Hills transaction.

Documentary Transfer Taxes

This one catches sellers off guard more often than it should.

Both Woodland Hills and West Hills sit within the City of Los Angeles, which means you pay two layers of transfer tax at closing:

• Los Angeles County: $1.10 per $1,000 of sale price
• City of Los Angeles: $4.50 per $1,000 of sale price
• Combined rate: $5.60 per $1,000

On a $1,500,000 sale, that's $8,400 in documentary transfer taxes. It's not a huge number relative to the total, but it belongs on your net sheet.

If your home is priced above $5,400,000, Measure ULA — the City of LA's additional "mansion tax" — applies on top of the standard DTT. As of July 1, 2026, that tax is 4% on sales between $5,400,000 and $10,900,000. For most Woodland Hills and West Hills sellers, this won't be a factor, but if you're in that price range, it's a significant line item to plan around.

Natural Hazard Disclosure and Other Required Reports

California requires a Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) report that identifies fire zone, flood zone, earthquake fault zone, and other environmental designations. Most NHD reports cost $100–$250. Your escrow will also charge recording fees and a few smaller administrative items, typically $200–$400 total.

Seller Concessions and Repair Credits

This variable is the one that's hardest to predict before you're in escrow. After the buyer's inspection, it's common for buyers to request repairs, a price reduction, or a seller credit toward their closing costs. In the current Woodland Hills market, it's not unusual to see buyers negotiate $5,000–$25,000 in credits on a typical transaction, depending on what the inspection turns up.

If your home is in excellent condition, this could be zero. If there are deferred maintenance items — aging HVAC, older roof, electrical updates, pool equipment — budget for it.

Property Tax Prorations

Property taxes in California are paid twice a year. At closing, you'll either receive a credit or pay a proration depending on where in the tax cycle you are. If you've overpaid, you'll get money back. If you haven't paid yet for the period you occupied the home, it comes off your proceeds. This is rarely more than a few thousand dollars either way, but your escrow officer will calculate it precisely.

A Sample Net Sheet for a $1,500,000 Woodland Hills Sale

Here's what a typical net sheet looks like before your mortgage payoff:

• Sale price: $1,500,000
• Listing agent commission (2.5%): −$37,500
• Buyer's agent compensation (2.5%): −$37,500
• Escrow fee: −$4,200
• Owner's title insurance: −$2,500
• County + City DTT ($5.60/$1,000): −$8,400
• NHD report and recording fees: −$400
• Seller concessions/repair credits (estimate): −$8,000
• Property tax proration (estimate): −$1,500
• Miscellaneous escrow charges: −$500

Estimated closing costs: −$100,500 (6.7% of sale price)

Estimated net proceeds before mortgage payoff: $1,399,500

That's roughly 93 cents on the dollar before your mortgage balance comes out. Your mortgage payoff — the principal you still owe — reduces that further. If you owe $600,000 on the home, your actual take-home after everything is approximately $799,500.

The reason I run a formal net sheet for every seller before we list is that the numbers interact with each other in ways that aren't always obvious. Your proration changes depending on close date. Your concession exposure depends on the condition of your home and what inspection season looks like in your price tier. These aren't guesses — they're calculated estimates, and they should inform your listing price strategy from day one.

What's Not on This Sheet — But Still Reduces What You Keep

Two things often get left off sellers' mental math:

Capital gains tax. If your profit exceeds the Section 121 exclusion ($250,000 for single filers, $500,000 for married couples filing jointly), you may owe federal capital gains tax and California ordinary income tax on the excess. This is entirely separate from your closing costs — it's calculated and paid on your tax return, not at escrow. If you've owned your Woodland Hills home for many years and have significant appreciation, this number can be substantial. I've written a detailed breakdown of how capital gains tax works on a California home sale that walks through the federal exclusion, California's rules, and when the math gets complicated.

Pre-listing costs. Repairs, staging, photography, and pre-listing cleaning are real costs that don't show up on the escrow statement — because you pay them before you ever hit the market. A staged home in the $1.2M–$2M range in Woodland Hills might cost $3,000–$8,000 to present at its best. Whether those costs are worth it depends entirely on how they affect your sale price and days on market — which is exactly the kind of analysis that belongs in your pre-listing conversation.

If you've held your home in a living trust or are selling as a fiduciary after a death in the family, there are additional process considerations and disclosures that affect how the sale moves through escrow. I've covered those in detail for trustee sellers and executor sellers separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do sellers typically net after closing in Woodland Hills?

Most Woodland Hills sellers net between 88% and 92% of their sale price after all costs — agent commissions, escrow fees, transfer taxes, title insurance, and other closing expenses. On a $1.5 million sale, that's roughly $1.32–$1.38 million before your mortgage payoff, which is calculated separately.

Do Woodland Hills sellers pay City of Los Angeles transfer taxes?

Yes. Woodland Hills and West Hills are neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles, so sellers pay both the Los Angeles County Documentary Transfer Tax ($1.10 per $1,000 of sale price) and the City of Los Angeles Documentary Transfer Tax ($4.50 per $1,000), for a combined rate of $5.60 per $1,000. On a $1.5 million sale, that's $8,400 in transfer taxes.

Does Measure ULA (the LA mansion tax) apply to homes sold in Woodland Hills?

Measure ULA applies to properties sold within the City of Los Angeles above a threshold that adjusts annually — as of July 1, 2026, that threshold is $5,400,000. Because Woodland Hills and West Hills are within City of LA boundaries, any sale at or above that price is subject to an additional 4% tax (and 5.5% above $10,900,000). Most residential sellers in these neighborhoods won't cross the threshold, but luxury sellers should confirm their exposure before listing.

Do I have to pay the buyer's agent commission as a seller in California?

Since the August 2024 NAR settlement took effect, sellers are no longer contractually required to offer compensation to the buyer's agent. However, many sellers in the San Fernando Valley choose to offer buyer's agent compensation — typically 2% to 2.5% of the sale price — because it attracts a broader pool of buyers. Whether and how much to offer is now a strategic decision you'll discuss with your listing agent before going on market.

What's the difference between seller closing costs and capital gains tax?

Seller closing costs are the fees you pay to complete the transaction — commissions, escrow, transfer taxes, title insurance, and similar line items. Capital gains tax is a separate calculation: what you may owe to the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board on any profit that exceeds the Section 121 exclusion. Both reduce what you ultimately keep, but they're calculated independently and involve different rules.

The number you walk away with matters — and you deserve to know it before you decide to list, not after. Every situation is a little different: your timeline, your mortgage balance, your home's condition, and how you structure the commission all affect what's on your net sheet.

If you're thinking about selling in Woodland Hills, West Hills, or anywhere in the West San Fernando Valley and want to see what your actual net looks like, reach out. Running a personalized net sheet is one of the first things I do with every seller I work with — it's a 15-minute conversation that changes how you approach everything else.