Only a lawyer is required to close a home sale in Alberta. An agent is optional — useful for some people, not required for anyone. Here's what the law actually requires, what commission can cost, and how to sell your home yourself.
Alberta-specific · plain-English · not legal advice
Alberta law requires a lawyer to transfer title — not an agent. Everything else about using a realtor is convention, not a legal requirement.
A commission structure often quoted in Alberta is 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the rest — paid by the seller, out of the sale price. Move the slider.
Illustrative only. Commission rates in Alberta are negotiable and not set by law — actual amounts vary by agreement. This is an example structure, before GST, not a quote. Use the full calculator, with GST and your own rates →
That's what an agent costs on this example. Whether it's worth it is your call.
Yes — real work, worth naming honestly. The point isn't that the jobs don't matter. It's that each one can now be done directly, with software, or by the professional the law always required.
An agent brings a market analysis. Without one: you set the price from what similar homes nearby have sold and listed for, and an appraiser can give you an independent number for a flat fee.
Agents offer MLS exposure. Now: on CLOSR your home appears in the feed buyers browse, with your price and details on the card. If you also want MLS, separate flat-fee mere-posting services offer that.
Agents relay and structure offers. Now: offers land in one thread you can see — counter and accept directly, with every version kept.
The part with real legal weight. Now: it's handled by your own lawyer — required regardless of whether an agent was ever involved.
The whole process, start to keys. None of it requires a licensed agent — the last step requires a lawyer, and that's the one you keep.
Look at what similar homes nearby have sold and listed for, and get an appraisal if you want an independent number. The asking price is yours to set — approximate pricing from market data is on the CLOSR roadmap, as a reference point, not an appraisal.
Clean, declutter, take good photos — and a short video tour if you like. Locate a current Real Property Report with compliance so title can transfer cleanly.Alberta · RPR + compliance
Post it where buyers look. On CLOSR it goes in the feed buyers browse once a person at CLOSR has reviewed it. For MLS, a separate flat-fee mere-posting service can list it there.
Talk to buyers directly, and keep offers in one thread — counter or accept in writing, with every version kept. On CLOSR, buyers pass an ID check before they can book a showing or make a formal offer.
Financing, inspection, title review — track each condition and its deadline so nothing slips before close.Alberta · written purchase contract
Your lawyer handles the title transfer, trust funds, and closing. The one required professional — and the one you were always going to pay.
Plain-English answers about selling and buying a home in Alberta without an agent.
CLOSR is software for selling and buying a home directly in Alberta, with no commission built in. It's live in Calgary now — get the app, or leave your email and we'll send you the download link.