Every week we field calls from buyers and sellers who have budgeted for the property itself but have no idea what the legal transfer is going to cost them. Some have been quoted $600 by one firm and $2,400 by another and cannot work out why the gap is so wide. The short answer is that most of those quotes are not comparing the same thing.

This guide lays out every cost category so you can read a conveyancing quote properly and know what you are paying for.

Professional fees — the bit you are actually shopping for

The professional fee is what the conveyancer charges for their time and expertise. For a standard residential purchase or sale in Brisbane, expect somewhere between $800 and $1,800 inclusive of GST. More involved transactions — commercial property, deceased estates, off-the-plan — push that range up to $2,500 or beyond.

Here is where the confusion starts. Some firms quote a low headline number but list disbursements separately. Others bundle everything into a single figure. A $900 quote that excludes $400 in searches is more expensive than a $1,200 quote that includes them. We have seen buyers choose the "cheaper" option and end up paying more at settlement, which is not a great feeling when you are already stretched.

When you are comparing quotes, ask one question: what is the total I will pay you, including GST, searches and all disbursements? If the firm cannot give you a clear number, that tells you something.

Transfer duty — the big one

For buyers, transfer duty (most people still call it stamp duty) is almost always the largest single cost in the transaction. It dwarfs the conveyancing fee.

Queensland calculates transfer duty on a sliding scale based on the property's purchase price or market value — whichever is higher. To give you a sense of scale: on a $750,000 owner-occupied home at the home concession rate, you are looking at roughly $13,000 in duty. That is a meaningful number.

The good news for first home buyers is that the concessions right now are genuinely generous. If you are buying an established home under $700,000 as your first property, you pay zero transfer duty. Between $700,001 and $800,000 there is a sliding concession. And if you are buying a brand-new home, the concession is uncapped — zero duty regardless of price, provided the contract was signed on or after 1 May 2025.

We always run the duty calculation for clients early in the process so there are no surprises. It is remarkable how often people assume they qualify for a concession and then discover they do not, or vice versa.

Government registration fees

These are smaller but still worth knowing about. Registering the transfer of title with Titles Queensland costs between $200 and $400 depending on property value. If you are taking out a mortgage, registering that mortgage is another $200 to $250. Sellers with an existing mortgage pay a similar amount to discharge it.

None of these are negotiable — they are set by the state government and apply to everyone.

Searches and disbursements

Searches are the due diligence backbone of any property purchase. Your conveyancer orders them on your behalf, and the costs are passed through at cost. Nothing is marked up — or at least, it should not be. Ask if you are unsure.

The standard search package for a Brisbane house purchase typically runs $250 to $400 in total. That covers title searches ($25–$35), council rates certificates ($30–$60), land tax clearance, transport and main roads, flood checks, and contamination searches. Each one serves a specific purpose, and skipping searches to save $30 is a false economy when you are spending half a million dollars or more.

Body corporate searches are the wildcard. If you are buying a unit or townhouse, the body corporate information certificate and records search can cost anywhere from $200 to $400 depending on the manager. Some body corporate managers are quick and affordable. Others are neither. We have had situations where a body corporate certificate took four weeks and cost $380, which is frustrating but unavoidable — the information it contains is critical.

Seller disclosure costs

This is a relatively new cost category for sellers. Since August 2025, Queensland sellers must provide a Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement and a bundle of prescribed certificates to buyers before the contract is signed. The certificates — council rates, water, body corporate where applicable — cost money to obtain, and most conveyancers charge a preparation fee on top.

All up, sellers should budget $200 to $600 for the disclosure pack depending on property type. It is an additional expense that did not exist two years ago, but it is now a non-negotiable part of selling in Queensland.

PEXA and settlement

Almost every residential settlement in Brisbane now goes through PEXA — the electronic settlement platform. There is a per-transaction fee, usually $80 to $150, which your conveyancer passes through. Small cost relative to everything else, but it is there.

Pulling it all together — a worked example

Say you are buying a $700,000 house in Coorparoo as your principal place of residence (not your first home):

• Professional fee: $1,200 (GST inclusive)

• Transfer duty (home concession rate): roughly $8,525

• Title registration: $250

• Mortgage registration: $220

• Searches and disbursements: $350

• PEXA fee: $110

• Total: approximately $10,655

Now say you are a first home buyer purchasing the same property. Transfer duty drops to zero under the current concession thresholds, bringing your total down to about $2,130. That is a significant difference, and it is why getting your eligibility confirmed early matters.

For sellers of the same property, the cost profile looks different — no transfer duty, but you are paying for the discharge of your existing mortgage, seller disclosure preparation, professional fees and the PEXA settlement fee. Total seller costs typically land between $1,500 and $2,500.

The real question is not how much — it is what you get

We will be direct about this. The difference between an $800 conveyancer and a $1,500 conveyancer is rarely about the quality of the title search or the speed of the PEXA settlement. It is about what happens when something goes wrong — when a search reveals an unregistered easement, when the seller's disclosure is incomplete, when your lender's valuation comes in low, or when the other side's solicitor is being difficult.

A good conveyancer handles those situations before they become your problem. A cheap one calls you when they have already become your problem. The fee difference is usually a few hundred dollars on a transaction worth hundreds of thousands. It is not the place to cut corners.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a conveyancer charge in Brisbane?

Professional fees for a standard residential transaction sit between $800 and $1,800 inclusive of GST. The total cost including government charges, searches and disbursements varies based on property value and whether you qualify for duty concessions.

What is the biggest conveyancing cost?

For buyers, transfer duty is the largest cost by a wide margin — often five to ten times the professional fee. For sellers, the professional fee and disclosure preparation are the main expenses.

Are conveyancing fees negotiable?

Fees vary between firms, and some will match competitors on straightforward transactions. But conveyancing is not a commodity service. The experience and attention you receive matters more than saving $200 on a fee when $700,000 is changing hands.

Do I pay everything upfront?

Most conveyancers invoice at or just before settlement, with some search costs invoiced earlier. Payment terms differ between firms, so clarify this before you engage.

PROPRT Conveyancing provides transparent, fixed-fee conveyancing for Brisbane property transactions. [Get a quote →]