Real Estate Fees:  Flyover Country vs. the Coasts

“The cost to register property in the U.S. has nearly quintupled from 2009, from .5% to 2.4%.”

–Brett Stephens, “Doomed to Stagnate“; The Wall Street Journal (12/20/16)

Given that the total closing costs for the average Minnesota home buyer come to about 2.7%, I can confidently say that Mr. Stephens is mistaken — at least about Minnesota (and presumably, most housing markets away from the coasts).

In fact, the cumulative cost for Buyers here to record their title and mortgage, and pay required closing fees and transfer taxes is well under 1% (lender fees account for the lion’s share of closing costs).

On a $300,000 home sale, that comes to a still-affordable $3,000.

Of course, there’s no such thing as a $300k house on the coasts, either . . .

P.S.:  it’s not clear from the article, but perhaps Mr. Stephens was averaging costs nationwide, or discussing commercial real estate.

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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