What It Costs to Sell a House in the Philadelphia Suburbs

29 Sep What It Costs to Sell a House in the Philadelphia Suburbs

Your sale price is not what you take home. When you sell a house in the Philadelphia suburbs, the realty transfer tax, real estate commission, your mortgage payoff, tax prorations, settlement charges and any credits you give the buyer all come out before you get paid.

None of it has to be a surprise. Nearly every line on your settlement statement comes from a document with your name on it, so you can work out your own number before you list.

What comes out of your sale price?

Whether your house is in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester or Delaware County, the seller’s side of the settlement statement can include:

• Your share of the realty transfer tax
• Your listing brokerage’s commission, as set in your listing agreement
• Any compensation you agreed to pay the buyer’s agent
• Your mortgage payoff, plus any home equity line
• Property tax and utility prorations
• Title and settlement charges on the seller’s side
• Repair credits or other concessions you agreed to give the buyer
• Municipal inspection or Use and Occupancy fees, where your municipality requires them
• Condominium or planned community resale documents, if your home is in one

Costs you pay before settlement, like repairs, cleaning, staging and moving, never show up on that statement. They still come out of your pocket.

How much is the transfer tax in the Philadelphia suburbs?

Pennsylvania charges a 1% realty transfer tax. Local taxing bodies add their own share, so the total depends on where the house is.

Montgomery County lists its total realty transfer tax at 2%. Bridgeport is a good example: the borough’s local transfer tax is 1%, and with the state’s 1%, the total comes to 2%.

Don’t assume every suburb works the same way. If your house is in Bucks, Chester or Delaware County, check the rate for your own municipality before you run the numbers. Your agent or title company can confirm it.

By custom, buyer and seller split the transfer tax evenly. That split isn’t set by law. It’s a term in your agreement of sale, and it can be negotiated like any other term.

What does the math look like on a $400,000 sale?

Here’s an example. The price is illustrative, not a typical price and not a prediction for your home.

Example: a house in Bridgeport, Montgomery County, sells for $400,000.

• Total transfer tax at 2%: $400,000 × 2% = $8,000
• Seller’s share with an even split: $8,000 ÷ 2 = $4,000

That’s one line. Here’s the whole picture, and where each number comes from:

Only the sale price and the transfer tax work the same way for every $400,000 sale in Bridgeport with an even split. Every other line comes from a document with your name on it. That’s why a generic “average cost to sell” figure tells you very little about your own sale.

Is the transfer tax higher in Philadelphia?

Yes. Since July 1, 2025, Philadelphia’s transfer tax has been 3.578% for the city plus 1% for the state, 4.578% in total. If you’ve seen 4.278% online, that was the rate before the July 2025 increase.

On the same $400,000 sale, that’s $400,000 × 4.578% = $18,312 in total transfer tax, more than double the $8,000 in Bridgeport. If you own property in both the city and the suburbs, run the numbers separately for each.

How is real estate commission set?

Commission is negotiable and not set by law. Your listing agreement states what you’ll pay your listing brokerage, when it’s earned, and what happens if the sale falls through. Read it before you sign. At Plus Realtors, we go through it with you line by line.

Buyer’s agent compensation works differently than it used to. Since August 2024, offers of compensation to buyers’ agents are no longer posted in the MLS, and buyers sign written agreements with their own agents before touring homes. As a seller, you can still agree to pay some or all of the buyer’s agent’s compensation, or offer the buyer a credit toward their costs. Either one is negotiated and written into your agreements.

So when you estimate your net, look in three places: your listing agreement, any compensation you agree to pay the buyer’s agent, and any credits in your agreement of sale.

Why is your mortgage payoff higher than your balance?

Your monthly statement shows your principal balance. Your payoff amount is what it takes to close the loan on a specific date, so it adds interest through that date and any fees your lender charges. Some loans also carry a prepayment penalty. Ask your lender or servicer for an official payoff statement, or let your title company request it.

If you have a home equity line of credit, tell your title company early. It has to be paid off at settlement, and your lender may need a signed request from you to close the line so the lien can be released.

How do property tax and utility prorations work?

Property taxes and some utilities are divided between buyer and seller based on the settlement date. This is called proration. If you already paid a tax bill that covers days after the sale, the buyer credits you for those days. If something is owed for days you owned the house, you pay your share.

In Pennsylvania, county, municipal and school taxes can be billed on different schedules, so check each proration line on your settlement statement. Water, sewer and trash charges may also need a final reading or certification before settlement.

Does your municipality require a Use and Occupancy permit?

Some municipalities require an inspection or a Use and Occupancy (U&O) permit before a house can change hands, and the rules vary by borough and township.

Bridgeport is an example: the borough requires a U&O permit for any resale of a property, residential or commercial. Some municipalities also issue a conditional permit when an inspection finds items that still need work, so ask how that works where you live.

Before you list, ask your agent or title company:

1. Does my municipality require a resale inspection or U&O permit?
2. What does it cost, and how long does it take?
3. What does the inspection check?
4. Are there open permits or code violations on the property?
5. What happens if the inspection finds problems?

Finding out six weeks before settlement is very different from finding out six days before.

What if your home is a condominium or in a planned community?

Pennsylvania law requires the seller of a unit in a condominium or planned community to give the buyer a resale certificate, along with copies of the association’s declaration, bylaws and rules. The certificate covers items like current dues and assessments, planned capital expenditures, reserves, insurance and any known violations.

The association has 10 days after your request to provide the certificate, and it can charge a reasonable fee to prepare it. Order it as soon as you decide to sell. If your home belongs to another kind of homeowners association, check its governing documents for resale requirements.

What costs do sellers overlook?

• Getting the house ready. Repairs, painting, cleaning, and any staging or photography you choose to pay for.
• Carrying costs. Your mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities keep running until settlement.
• Moving and storage.
• Capital gains tax. If the house is your main home, federal tax law lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or up to $500,000 for married couples filing jointly who qualify, if you owned and lived in it for at least two of the last five years. Different rules apply to rentals, second homes and inherited property. Ask your tax advisor how it applies to your sale.

What about the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement?

Pennsylvania requires sellers of residential property to give the buyer a signed disclosure statement of known material defects before the agreement of sale is signed. Some transfers are exempt, such as certain estate and trust sales and qualifying new construction.

Fill it out carefully and early. A known water problem, an old repair or a structural concern is much easier to handle before you’re under contract than after.

What should you gather before you list?

• Your latest mortgage statement, and any home equity line statement
• Your most recent county, municipal and school tax bills
• Your municipality’s resale inspection or U&O requirements
• Contact details for your condominium or homeowners association, if you have one
• Records of major improvements, repairs and permits
• Any past municipal inspections, certificates or notices

With these in hand, your agent and title company can estimate your costs from real numbers instead of guesses.

How do you get a net sheet for your own house?

A net sheet is the example above with your numbers in it: a likely sale price, your local transfer tax and the split you expect, your commission and any compensation you plan to offer, your payoff, and settlement estimates.

Ask for it at more than one price. Seeing how your take-home changes between a lower and a higher sale price makes pricing and negotiating decisions clearer.

Any value range we give you is a broker price opinion, and a broker price opinion is not an appraisal.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays the transfer tax when I sell a house in the Philadelphia suburbs?

By custom, buyer and seller each pay half. The split is written into the agreement of sale and can be negotiated.

Is real estate commission set by law?

No. Commission is negotiable and not set by law. What you pay your listing brokerage, and any compensation you agree to pay a buyer’s agent, is written into your agreements.

When do I actually pay these costs?

Most seller costs come out of your proceeds at settlement, so you rarely write a separate check. Costs before listing, like repairs, cleaning or moving, you pay as they come up.

How early should I start?

Before you list. Request your mortgage payoff, check your municipality’s resale requirements, and order your association’s resale certificate if you have one. Those three can hold up settlement if they’re left to the end.

What will you take home?

The number that matters is what lands in your account at settlement, not your list price. If you’re thinking about selling anywhere in the Philadelphia suburbs, we’ll build a net sheet for your house, line by line. Contact Plus Realtors and tell us where your home is.