Closing Costs

How Much Are Closing Costs for Buyers in Los Angeles, CA?

Updated November 10, 2026

By Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Reviewed by:

Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Kevin Kretzmer

Head Agent, California · CalDRE #01997822

Buyers in Los Angeles should budget $3,665 to $6,625 in closing costs on a median-priced $1,140,000 home (0.32% to 0.58% of the price), before prepaids and discount points. Add roughly $7,222 to $9,722 for prepaid interest, a property tax reserve and a year of insurance, so cash to close with 20% down is about $238,887 to $244,347. In Los Angeles the seller customarily pays the owner's title policy and every transfer tax (county, city and Measure ULA), so the bigger hurdle is the down payment: $228,000 at 20% down on the median home. The estimates are modeled on 4,141 closings in our MLS feed from May 1 to October 31, 2026.

TurboHome Market Analysis · Los Angeles, CA · Closings May to Oct 2026 · Updated November 10, 2026

Below: each line item, costs by purchase price and neighborhood, who pays what by local custom, prepaids and cash to close, how buyers paid, what changed from a year ago, and how to lower the bill.

What Los Angeles buyers pay at closing

High estimate. Every figure is in the table below.

Estimated buyer closing costs in Los Angeles at the $1,140,000 median price, data table
Line item	Low estimate	High estimate
Lender fees (origination, underwriting, processing)	$1,200	$3,000
Appraisal and credit report	$650	$950
Lender's title policy	$400	$800
Escrow fee (buyer's half)	$1,265	$1,625
Recording fees	$150	$250
Total closing costs, before prepaids and points	$3,665	$6,625

These are estimates for a financed purchase with 20% down and a conventional loan at the median price, not a quote. The Loan Estimate your lender sends within three business days of your application, and the escrow or title company's estimate, are the figures to plan around.

Closing costs by purchase price in Los Angeles

Estimated buyer closing costs, prepaids and cash to close by purchase price in Los Angeles, data table
Purchase price	Closing costs	Share of price	Prepaids	Cash to close, 20% down
$500,000	$3,025 to $5,825	0.6% to 1.17%	$4,009 to $6,509	$107,034 to $112,334
$750,000	$3,275 to $6,138	0.44% to 0.82%	$5,264 to $7,764	$158,539 to $163,902
$1,000,000	$3,525 to $6,450	0.35% to 0.65%	$6,519 to $9,019	$210,044 to $215,469
$1,500,000	$4,025 to $7,075	0.27% to 0.47%	$9,029 to $11,529	$313,054 to $318,604
$2,000,000	$4,525 to $7,700	0.23% to 0.39%	$11,539 to $14,039	$416,064 to $421,739
$3,000,000	$5,525 to $8,950	0.18% to 0.3%	$16,558 to $19,058	$622,083 to $628,008

Half of Los Angeles closings fell between $730,000 and $1,900,000. At $730,000, closing costs run $3,255 to $6,112; at $1,900,000, $4,425 to $7,575. Flat charges such as lender fees and the appraisal cost the same at any price, so closing costs shrink as a share of the price as the price rises.

Share of Los Angeles closings by price, May to October 2026: under $500,000, 6.5%, $500,000 to $750,000, 20.0%, $750,000 to $1 million, 17.1%, $1 million to $1.5 million, 20.8%, $1.5 million to $2 million, 12.4%, $2 million to $3 million, 12.3% and $3 million and up, 10.9%. The largest group was $1 million to $1.5 million.

Closing costs by neighborhood

Los Angeles neighborhoods with the most closings, May to October 2026, data table
Neighborhood	Closings	Median price	Estimated closing costs
Brentwood	183	$2,395,000	$4,920 to $8,194
Westwood	171	$1,185,000	$3,710 to $6,681
Westchester	144	$1,702,500	$4,228 to $7,328
Hollywood Hills	125	$1,775,000	$4,300 to $7,419
Mar Vista	124	$2,270,000	$4,795 to $8,038
Hollywood Hills West	123	$2,325,000	$4,850 to $8,106
Silver Lake	121	$1,620,000	$4,145 to $7,225
Los Feliz	108	$1,840,000	$4,365 to $7,500

Brentwood ($4,920 to $8,194) and Hollywood Hills West ($4,850 to $8,106) top the table, while condo-heavy Westwood comes in at $3,710 to $6,681. The spread is narrow for Los Angeles prices because the seller pays the owner's title policy and the transfer taxes.

Estimates apply the same model at each neighborhood's median price, so they move with price and local custom, not with anything specific to the neighborhood.

Who pays what in Los Angeles County

Who customarily pays each closing cost in Los Angeles County, data table
Cost	Customarily paid by	Notes
Owner's title policy	Seller
Lender's title policy	Buyer	Required by your lender
Escrow fee	Split 50/50
County transfer tax	Seller	$1.10 per $1,000 of price
City transfer tax and Measure ULA	Seller	$4.50 per $1,000, plus Measure ULA on sales over $5,400,000
Recording fees	Buyer	For the deed and your loan documents

Los Angeles County charges $1.10 per $1,000 of price and the City of Los Angeles adds $4.50 per $1,000. For closings after June 30, 2026, Measure ULA adds 4% of the price on sales over $5,400,000 and under $10,900,000, and 5.5% at $10,900,000 and up. By Los Angeles custom the seller pays all of them, so none appear in the buyer estimates.

These are local customs, not law. Buyer and seller can agree to a different split in the purchase contract, and a seller whose home has sat is often willing to cover more.

Sources:

Chicago Title, 2026 California Customary Practices Guide, checked November 10, 2026
Old Republic Title, California customs chart, checked November 10, 2026
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, documentary transfer tax, checked November 10, 2026
Los Angeles Office of Finance, Measure ULA FAQ, checked November 10, 2026
JVM Lending, average closing costs in California, updated September 23, 2026

Prepaids, earnest money and your cash to close

Prepaids are not fees. They fund your first costs of owning the home, and on a $1,140,000 home in Los Angeles they come to $7,222 to $9,722:

Prepaid interest: $2,342. 15 days of interest on an 80% loan at an assumed 6.25% rate. Your figure depends on your rate and how many days are left in the month when you close.
Property tax reserve: $3,380. Three months of property tax at the 1.19% effective rate from our Los Angeles property tax guide. Lenders usually collect two to three months for the escrow account; we assume three.
Homeowners insurance: $1,500 to $4,000. The first 12 months, paid at closing (a TurboHome estimate).

Cash to close with 20% down at the $1,140,000 median price in Los Angeles, data table
Item	At the median price
Down payment, 20%	$228,000
Closing costs	$3,665 to $6,625
Prepaids and reserves	$7,222 to $9,722
Cash to close	$238,887 to $244,347

Earnest money is not an extra cost. TurboHome's California buyers put down a median deposit of 3.0% of the price in the 12 months to October 31, 2026 (32 closings with a recorded deposit), and the deposit is credited toward your cash to close.

With 10% down, the down payment on the median home is $114,000; with 5% down, $57,000. A smaller down payment usually adds mortgage insurance and changes the loan costs, so we show cash to close only for 20% down.

How Los Angeles buyers paid

Only 45.5% of Los Angeles closings from May to October 2026 recorded how the buyer paid (1,884 closings), so read these shares as describing those closings only. Among closings that recorded financing, 27.1% paid cash, 34.4% used a conventional loan, 13.8% used an FHA loan and 2.1% used a VA loan. The loan type changes the closing bill:

Cash buyers skip the lender fees, the lender's title policy and prepaid interest, so they pay well under the estimates above.
FHA buyers add an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% of the base loan amount (HUD, Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 (FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium), dated February 22, 2023, checked November 10, 2026), which can be added to the loan.
VA buyers pay a funding fee of 2.15% of the loan on first use with less than 5% down, unless exempt, for example with a service-connected disability rating. It can be added to the loan (VA.gov, VA funding fee and closing costs, checked October 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026).

FHA loans made up 13.8% of the closings that recorded financing, the highest FHA share of the six California cities in this series, so the 1.75% upfront premium matters more to Los Angeles buyers than in the other California cities here.

What changed from a year ago

The median Los Angeles sale price fell 2.9%, from $1,173,500 (4,177 closings in the same months of 2025) to $1,140,000. At last year's median, the same model puts buyer closing costs at $3,698 to $6,667, against $3,665 to $6,625 now: a drop of $33 to $42.

How to lower your closing costs in Los Angeles

Ask for a seller credit. A credit written into your offer pays part of your closing costs at closing. Sellers agree more often when a home has sat; see days on market in Los Angeles for how long homes are taking to sell. Your loan program caps how large a credit can be, so check with your lender first.
Compare lender credits. A lender can pay some of your costs in exchange for a slightly higher rate. Ask two or three lenders for a Loan Estimate on the same day and compare the rate and the credit together.
Shop title and escrow where you can. The escrow fee is split in Los Angeles County, so ask the escrow company for its fee schedule early, and compare the lender's title charges on Loan Estimates from two lenders.
Put a commission refund toward the bill. TurboHome is a flat-fee buyer's brokerage that refunds the rest of the buyer-side commission at closing, and 62% of TurboHome buyers who stated a preference chose to take it as a credit at closing (108 of 173, closings in the 12 months to October 31, 2026). On TurboHome's California closings over the same 12 months, the median refund was $14,663 (companies that refund the buyer's agent commission).

Methodology

We modeled buyer closing costs for Los Angeles from 4,141 closings in our MLS feed from May 1 to October 31, 2026, excluding sales under $50,000 and land and lot sales. The median sale price was $1,140,000, with a 25th percentile of $730,000 and a 75th percentile of $1,900,000. Each estimate is a range for a financed purchase with 20% down and a conventional loan, buyer side only, at the stated price.

California model ranges: lender fees (origination, underwriting, processing) $1,200 to $3,000; appraisal and credit report $650 to $950; lender's title policy $400 to $800; recording $150 to $250; owner's title policy, only where the buyer customarily pays it, 0.20% to 0.26% of the price, with a $1,100 to $1,400 minimum; escrow fee $250 plus $2.00 per $1,000 of price (low) to $400 plus $2.50 per $1,000 (high), with the buyer's share set by local custom.

Prepaids assume 15 days of interest at an assumed 6.25% rate on an 80% loan, a three-month property tax reserve at the 1.19% effective rate, and 12 months of homeowners insurance at $1,500 to $4,000 (a TurboHome estimate).

Estimates leave out discount points, inspections, HOA transfer or capital contribution fees, Mello-Roos special taxes and property tax prorations between buyer and seller. Customs vary by contract and are negotiable.

Escrow: the buyer pays half, per Los Angeles County custom. Owner's title: seller-paid, not included. No transfer tax is included because the seller customarily pays the county, city and Measure ULA taxes. Financing type was recorded for only 1,884 closings (45.5%), so the financing shares describe those closings only.

TurboHome figures (earnest money, the share of buyers who took their refund as a credit at closing, median refunds) come from TurboHome's own closings in the 12 months to October 31, 2026.

Public sources:

Chicago Title, 2026 California Customary Practices Guide, checked November 10, 2026
Old Republic Title, California customs chart, checked November 10, 2026
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, documentary transfer tax, checked November 10, 2026
Los Angeles Office of Finance, Measure ULA FAQ, checked November 10, 2026
JVM Lending, average closing costs in California, updated September 23, 2026
HUD, Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 (FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium), dated February 22, 2023, checked November 10, 2026
VA.gov, VA funding fee and closing costs, checked October 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026

FAQ

Can the seller pay my closing costs in Los Angeles?

Yes, if the seller agrees. You ask for a seller credit in your offer and it is applied to your closing costs at closing. Sellers are more open to credits on homes that have sat on the market (days on market in Los Angeles), and your loan program caps how large a credit can be, so check the limit with your lender before you ask.

What is the transfer tax in Los Angeles and who pays it?

Los Angeles County charges $1.10 per $1,000 and the City of Los Angeles $4.50 per $1,000, and Measure ULA adds 4% on sales over $5,400,000 and under $10,900,000 and 5.5% at $10,900,000 and up, for closings after June 30, 2026 (Los Angeles Office of Finance, Measure ULA FAQ, checked November 10, 2026). By Los Angeles custom the seller pays all of them.

How much earnest money do I need in Los Angeles?

TurboHome's California buyers put down a median earnest money deposit of 3.0% of the price in the 12 months to October 31, 2026 (32 closings with a recorded deposit). The deposit is due soon after your offer is accepted and is credited toward your cash to close, so it is not an extra cost.

Is a buyer's agent rebate worth it in Los Angeles?

For most buyers, yes. Closing costs on the median-priced $1,140,000 home in Los Angeles run $3,665 to $6,625, and a refund of the buyer-side commission can be credited toward them at closing. TurboHome is a flat-fee buyer's brokerage that refunds the rest of the buyer-side commission at closing; on its California closings in the 12 months to October 31, 2026, the median refund was $14,663. Compare the companies that refund the buyer's agent commission in California.

Can I roll closing costs into my mortgage?

Not on a conventional purchase loan: you pay closing costs and prepaids in cash at closing, or cover them with a seller credit, a lender credit or a commission refund. Government loans have narrow exceptions. FHA's 1.75% upfront mortgage insurance premium and the VA funding fee can be added to the loan amount, but VA says all other fees on a purchase loan must be paid at closing (VA.gov, VA funding fee and closing costs, checked October 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026).

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