Closing Costs

How Much Are Closing Costs for Buyers in San Francisco, 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 San Francisco should budget $9,150 to $13,687 in closing costs on a median-priced $1,625,000 home (0.56% to 0.84% of the price), before prepaids and discount points. Add roughly $9,644 to $12,144 for prepaid interest, a property tax reserve and a year of insurance, so cash to close with 20% down is about $343,794 to $350,831. In San Francisco, buyers customarily pay the owner's title policy and the full escrow fee, but not the transfer tax, which the seller pays. The estimates are modeled on 2,565 closings in our MLS feed from May 1 to October 31, 2026.

TurboHome Market Analysis · San Francisco, 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, what changed from a year ago, and how to lower the bill.

What San Francisco buyers pay at closing

High estimate. Every figure is in the table below.

Estimated buyer closing costs in San Francisco at the $1,625,000 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
Owner's title policy (buyer pays in this county)	$3,250	$4,225
Escrow fee (buyer pays all)	$3,500	$4,462
Recording fees	$150	$250
Total closing costs, before prepaids and points	$9,150	$13,687

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 San Francisco

Estimated buyer closing costs, prepaids and cash to close by purchase price in San Francisco, data table
Purchase price	Closing costs	Share of price	Prepaids	Cash to close, 20% down
$750,000	$5,650 to $9,225	0.75% to 1.23%	$5,259 to $7,759	$160,909 to $166,984
$1,000,000	$6,650 to $10,500	0.67% to 1.05%	$6,512 to $9,012	$213,162 to $219,512
$1,500,000	$8,650 to $13,050	0.58% to 0.87%	$9,017 to $11,517	$317,667 to $324,567
$2,000,000	$10,650 to $15,600	0.53% to 0.78%	$11,524 to $14,024	$422,174 to $429,624
$3,000,000	$14,650 to $20,700	0.49% to 0.69%	$16,534 to $19,034	$631,184 to $639,734

Half of San Francisco closings fell between $1,050,000 and $2,450,000. At $1,050,000, closing costs run $6,850 to $10,755; at $2,450,000, $12,450 to $17,895. 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 San Francisco closings by price, May to October 2026: under $750,000, 11.5%, $750,000 to $1 million, 11.6%, $1 million to $1.5 million, 20.3%, $1.5 million to $2 million, 21.1%, $2 million to $3 million, 18.8% and $3 million and up, 16.7%. The largest group was $1.5 million to $2 million.

Closing costs by neighborhood

San Francisco neighborhoods with the most closings, May to October 2026, data table
Neighborhood	Closings	Median price	Estimated closing costs
South of Market	277	$975,000	$6,550 to $10,373
Sunset District	235	$1,980,000	$10,570 to $15,498
The Richmond District	183	$2,200,000	$11,450 to $16,620
Western Addition	159	$1,425,000	$8,350 to $12,667
Eureka Valley	136	$1,990,000	$10,610 to $15,549
Inner Mission	134	$1,332,500	$7,980 to $12,195
Pacific Heights	108	$2,237,500	$11,600 to $16,812
Noe Valley	100	$2,618,000	$13,122 to $18,752

Noe Valley ($13,122 to $18,752) and Pacific Heights ($11,600 to $16,812) carry the highest estimates in the table, because the owner's title policy and escrow fee that buyers pay here rise with price. South of Market, with a $975,000 median, comes in at $6,550 to $10,373.

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 San Francisco County

Who customarily pays each closing cost in San Francisco County, data table
Cost	Customarily paid by	Notes
Owner's title policy	Buyer
Lender's title policy	Buyer	Required by your lender
Escrow fee	Buyer
County transfer tax	Seller	Included in the city's tiered transfer tax, because San Francisco is a city and county
City transfer tax	Seller	$3.40 per $500 from $250,000 to $1 million; $3.75 per $500 from $1 million to $5 million
Recording fees	Buyer	For the deed and your loan documents

San Francisco's transfer tax is customarily paid by the seller, so it is not in the buyer estimates on this page. The rates per $500 of price: $2.50 up to $250,000; $3.40 from $250,000 to $1 million; $3.75 from $1 million to $5 million; $11.25 from $5 million to $10 million; $27.50 from $10 million to $25 million; and $30.00 at $25 million and up.

The BUILD Act's proposed transfer tax cuts apply only to transfers of $10 million and up, so they do not affect homes under $10 million.

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
SF.gov, transfer tax rates, checked November 10, 2026
Greenberg Traurig, San Francisco's BUILD Act, published March 13, 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 $1,625,000 home in San Francisco they come to $9,644 to $12,144:

Prepaid interest: $3,339. 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: $4,805. Three months of property tax at the 1.18% effective rate from our San Francisco 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 $1,625,000 median price in San Francisco, data table
Item	At the median price
Down payment, 20%	$325,000
Closing costs	$9,150 to $13,687
Prepaids and reserves	$9,644 to $12,144
Cash to close	$343,794 to $350,831

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 $162,500; with 5% down, $81,250. A smaller down payment usually adds mortgage insurance and changes the loan costs, so we show cash to close only for 20% down.

What changed from a year ago

The median San Francisco sale price rose 17.2%, from $1,386,000 (2,413 closings in the same months of 2025) to $1,625,000. At last year's median, the same model puts buyer closing costs at $8,194 to $12,469, against $9,150 to $13,687 now: an increase of $956 to $1,218. The 17.2% rise is the largest of the six California cities in this series, and closing costs rose with it because the title policy and escrow fee that San Francisco buyers pay are priced off the purchase price.

How to lower your closing costs in San Francisco

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 San Francisco 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. Because you customarily pay for title and escrow in San Francisco, ask two or three title and escrow companies for written quotes before you name one in your offer.
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 San Francisco from 2,565 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 $1,625,000, with a 25th percentile of $1,050,000 and a 75th percentile of $2,450,000. 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 1.18% 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 the full fee, per San Francisco custom. Owner's title: the buyer pays it, at the model rate. No transfer tax is included because the seller customarily pays it.

We do not have financing data for San Francisco closings in this window, so this page has no section on how buyers paid.

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
SF.gov, transfer tax rates, checked November 10, 2026
Greenberg Traurig, San Francisco's BUILD Act, published March 13, 2026
JVM Lending, average closing costs in California, updated September 23, 2026

FAQ

Can the seller pay my closing costs in San Francisco?

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 San Francisco), 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 San Francisco and who pays it?

San Francisco charges one tiered transfer tax that includes the county portion: $3.40 per $500 from $250,000 to $1 million and $3.75 per $500 from $1 million to $5 million, with higher rates above that (SF.gov, transfer tax rates, checked November 10, 2026). The seller customarily pays it, so it is not part of a buyer's closing costs unless the contract says otherwise.

How much earnest money do I need in San Francisco?

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.

Can I get cash back when I buy a house in San Francisco?

Yes. TurboHome is a flat-fee buyer's brokerage serving San Francisco: it charges a flat fee instead of a percentage commission and refunds the rest of the buyer-side commission to you at closing. 62% of TurboHome buyers who stated a preference took it as a credit at closing, which lowers the cash they bring. 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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