{"id":23856,"date":"2024-02-05T05:00:40","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T13:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=23856"},"modified":"2025-07-11T12:47:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T19:47:44","slug":"closing-costs-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/closing-costs-california\/","title":{"rendered":"California Sellers: You\u2019re on the Hook for These Closing Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

California homeowners looking to upgrade from their starter home to more permanent digs may be surprised by the amount they\u2019ll owe at the end of the sale: Closing costs in California typically range from 6% to 8% of the total home sale price.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always recommend that sellers reach out to a real estate agent to get an estimated settlement statement \u2026 so they can kind of get a ballpark on what those transfer costs are going to be,\u201d advises Donny Piwowarski<\/a>, a top real estate agent in Tracy, California who has sold close to 800 properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

Step one: Talk to an expert!<\/h3>\n

Selling your house soon? Connect with a top agent near you to get an expert opinion on how much your house will sell for, what to fix before listing, and the latest local housing market trends.<\/p>\n \n

\n Learn More<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We spoke to Piwowarski about closing costs in California and what sellers are customarily on the hook for. Keep scrolling to find out how much you can expect to pay when you sell your house.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

California sellers cover these closing costs<\/h2>\n

While some closing costs are negotiable<\/a>, California home sellers almost always pay for the following eight closing costs:<\/p>\n

1. Mortgage payoff<\/h3>\n

Nationally, the median duration of homeownership is just over 13 years<\/a>. In California, this number trends higher when analyzing high-priced, major metro areas like Los Angeles (18.1 years), Oxnard (17 years), Anaheim (16.9 years), San Jose (16.7 years), and Oakland (16.2 years).<\/p>\n

Considering that most mortgages have 15-year or 30-year terms, many California sellers must pay off their remaining mortgage<\/a> when they sell their home. If your selling price is higher than the price you purchased it for, you\u2019ll use the money from the sale to pay off your mortgage \u2014 and ideally pocket what\u2019s left over!<\/p>\n

2. Property taxes<\/h3>\n

Property taxes can be a dizzying closing cost to calculate due to how they are billed. Property taxes in California are due twice a year in November and February<\/a>, and the seller is responsible for paying taxes up until the closing date. Piwowarski provides a hypothetical example:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the property is going to close by the end of April, and let\u2019s say the seller has already paid the April obligation for the property tax bill, they would get a credit for a portion of that. Then the buyer would get the remaining balance. It would get prorated at the closing table.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same is true of the opposite: If you sell your home in June, you cover property taxes up to June at the closing table.<\/p>\n

The buyer\u2019s lender typically calculates who owes what capital gains tax on real estate in California<\/a>, but it\u2019s a good thing to be aware of before sitting down at the closing table.<\/p>\n

3. Loan reconveyance fee<\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019ve paid the mortgage balance, you\u2019ll receive a reconveyance deed as proof. Lenders typically charge around $50-$65<\/a> for this documentation \u2014 which, by the way, you\u2019ll need to prove to the county that your lender no longer has claims to the property.<\/p>\n

4. Reconveyance recording fee<\/h3>\n

The county\u2019s recorder files the reconveyance deed in the county\u2019s records. As compensation for their labor, county recorders charge a fee to record the reconveyance. In California, these fees range from $8 to $98 per title. Find out what your county charges for recording fees<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. California documentary transfer tax<\/h3>\n

In addition to property taxes, all home sellers in California pay a state documentary transfer tax. The state charges a tax on the transfer of real property titles at a rate of 55 cents per $500<\/a> of the closing cost. Since it is a state tax, it applies equally to transactions in every corner of California.<\/p>\n

6. County transfer tax<\/h3>\n

County transfer taxes are yet another fee that sellers may have to pay at closing, depending on the property\u2019s location. Counties leveraged these taxes on documents that grant, transfer, or convey real property.<\/p>\n

Sound familiar? It should. These taxes are essentially the same as documentary transfer taxes, except that home sellers pay them to the county, not to the state. As such, the rate of taxation varies from county to county.<\/p>\n

7. Real estate agent commission<\/h3>\n

The average agent commission in California is 5%\u20135.5%<\/a>, split evenly between the buyer\u2019s agent and the listing agent. The seller pays for both agents\u2019 commissions. This can translate to a pretty penny when the median price for a single-family home is $819,740<\/a> (as of December 2023); 5.5% on a median-priced home could be as much as $45,086 out of the seller\u2019s pocket at closing.<\/p>\n

But Piwowarski says not to let this number scare you when you\u2019re hiring an agent at the start of your home sale:<\/p>\n

\n The most common mistake I see is that sellers focus so much on commission, and they tend to [hire] the lowest bidder, not understanding that if you hire someone who is so quick to drop their commission, you\u2019re hiring someone that\u2019s not going to put a lot of effort into trying to maximize the sale of your home<\/em>.<\/q>\n
\n