Closing Costs

How Much Are Closing Costs for Buyers in San Jose, 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 Jose should budget $6,140 to $9,156 in closing costs on a median-priced $1,364,186 home (0.45% to 0.67% of the price), before prepaids and discount points. Add roughly $8,223 to $10,723 for prepaid interest, a property tax reserve and a year of insurance, so cash to close with 20% down is about $287,200 to $292,716. San Jose buyers customarily split the city's conveyance tax of $3.30 per $1,000 with the seller ($2,251 is the buyer's half on the median home), while the seller pays the owner's title policy. The estimates are modeled on 1,698 closings in our MLS feed from May 1 to October 31, 2026.

TurboHome Market Analysis · San Jose, 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 San Jose buyers pay at closing

High estimate. Every figure is in the table below.

Estimated buyer closing costs in San Jose at the $1,364,186 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)	$1,489	$1,905
Recording fees	$150	$250
San Jose conveyance tax (buyer's customary half)	$2,251	$2,251
Total closing costs, before prepaids and points	$6,140	$9,156

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 Jose

Estimated buyer closing costs, prepaids and cash to close by purchase price in San Jose, data table
Purchase price	Closing costs	Share of price	Prepaids	Cash to close, 20% down
$750,000	$4,513 to $7,376	0.6% to 0.98%	$5,196 to $7,696	$159,709 to $165,072
$1,000,000	$5,175 to $8,100	0.52% to 0.81%	$6,429 to $8,929	$211,604 to $217,029
$1,500,000	$6,500 to $9,550	0.43% to 0.64%	$8,892 to $11,392	$315,392 to $320,942
$2,000,000	$7,825 to $11,000	0.39% to 0.55%	$11,357 to $13,857	$419,182 to $424,857
$3,000,000	$10,475 to $13,900	0.35% to 0.46%	$16,284 to $18,784	$626,759 to $632,684

Half of San Jose closings fell between $920,000 and $1,855,312. At $920,000, closing costs run $4,963 to $7,868; at $1,855,312, $7,441 to $10,580. 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 Jose closings by price, May to October 2026: under $750,000, 15.6%, $750,000 to $1 million, 13.7%, $1 million to $1.5 million, 27.2%, $1.5 million to $2 million, 22.1%, $2 million to $3 million, 15.7% and $3 million and up, 5.6%. The largest group was $1 million to $1.5 million.

The $3,000,000 row leaves out San Jose's Measure E transfer tax, which applies only to sales over $2,300,000 at 0.75% of the full price up to $5,000,000. In our feed, 15.7% of San Jose closings were $2 million to $3 million and 5.6% were $3 million and up, so Measure E touches only the top of the market.

Closing costs by neighborhood

San Jose neighborhoods with the most closings, May to October 2026, data table
Neighborhood	Closings	Median price	Estimated closing costs
Willow Glen	110	$2,082,500	$8,044 to $11,239
Downtown San Jose	90	$900,000	$4,910 to $7,810
The Villages	55	$750,000	$4,513 to $7,376
Willow Glen South / Lincoln Glen	38	$1,869,000	$7,478 to $10,620
Doerr / Steindorf	28	$1,677,500	$6,971 to $10,065
Communication Hill	26	$1,006,500	$5,193 to $8,119
Alum Rock	21	$905,000	$4,923 to $7,824
Shasta Hanchett Park	20	$1,962,500	$7,726 to $10,891

Willow Glen buyers face $8,044 to $11,239 at a $2,082,500 median, against $4,910 to $7,810 in Downtown San Jose at $900,000. Every neighborhood median in the table is below Measure E's $2,300,000 threshold, so none of these estimates includes it.

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 Santa Clara County

Who customarily pays each closing cost in Santa Clara County, data table
Cost	Customarily paid by	Notes
Owner's title policy	Seller
Lender's title policy	Buyer	Required by your lender
Escrow fee	Seller (buyer pays only a loan escrow fee)	Our estimate still gives the buyer half the escrow fee, so that line is conservative
County transfer tax	Seller	$1.10 per $1,000 of price
San Jose conveyance tax	Split 50/50	$3.30 per $1,000; the buyer's half was $2,251 on the median home
Measure E transfer tax	Negotiable	Only on sales over $2,300,000; the title company charts we checked list no custom for it
Recording fees	Buyer	For the deed and your loan documents

San Jose charges a conveyance tax of $3.30 per $1,000 of price ($1.65 per $500), customarily split between buyer and seller. Santa Clara County's tax of $1.10 per $1,000 is customarily the seller's.

Measure E adds a transfer tax on sales over $2,300,000, a threshold that took effect July 1, 2025: 0.75% of the full price from $2,300,000.01 to $5,000,000, 1% from $5,000,000.01 to $10,000,000 and 1.5% above $10,000,000.

Santa Clara County is the Bay Area exception on title and escrow: Chicago Title and Old Republic both list the owner's title policy and the escrow fee as seller-paid by custom, with the buyer paying only the escrow fee for the loan. Our model gives the buyer half the escrow fee, so treat the escrow line as a ceiling.

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
City of San Jose, Measure E real property transfer tax, checked November 10, 2026
Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder, Measure E, 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 $1,364,186 home in San Jose they come to $8,223 to $10,723:

Prepaid interest: $2,803. 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: $3,920. Three months of property tax at the 1.15% effective rate from our San Jose 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 $1,364,186 median price in San Jose, data table
Item	At the median price
Down payment, 20%	$272,837
Closing costs	$6,140 to $9,156
Prepaids and reserves	$8,223 to $10,723
Cash to close	$287,200 to $292,716

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 $136,419; with 5% down, $68,209. A smaller down payment usually adds mortgage insurance and changes the loan costs, so we show cash to close only for 20% down.

How San Jose buyers paid

97.6% of San Jose closings from May to October 2026 recorded how the buyer paid (1,658 closings). 19.1% paid cash, 74.0% used a conventional loan, 1.3% used an FHA loan and 2.2% 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).

What changed from a year ago

The median San Jose sale price fell 2.7%, from $1,401,328 (1,578 closings in the same months of 2025) to $1,364,186. At last year's median, the same model puts buyer closing costs at $6,238 to $9,264, against $6,140 to $9,156 now: a drop of $98 to $108.

How to lower your closing costs in San Jose

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 Jose 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. Sellers customarily pay the owner's title policy and the escrow fee in Santa Clara County, so make sure your offer keeps that split; then you pay only the loan escrow fee and the lender's title policy.
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 Jose from 1,698 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 $1,364,186, with a 25th percentile of $920,000 and a 75th percentile of $1,855,312. 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 1.15% 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 model gives the buyer half the escrow fee, but Chicago Title and Old Republic list the escrow fee as seller-paid by custom in Santa Clara County, so the escrow line here is conservative. Owner's title: seller-paid, not included. Transfer tax: the buyer's customary half of San Jose's $3.30 per $1,000 conveyance tax; Measure E is not included because the median price is below its $2,300,000 threshold. Financing type was recorded for 1,658 closings (97.6%).

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
City of San Jose, Measure E real property transfer tax, checked November 10, 2026
Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder, Measure E, 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 San Jose?

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 Jose), 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 Jose and who pays it?

San Jose's conveyance tax is $3.30 per $1,000, customarily split between buyer and seller, so the buyer's half came to $2,251 on the median $1,364,186 home. Santa Clara County's $1.10 per $1,000 is customarily the seller's, and Measure E adds 0.75% to 1.5% of the full price only on sales over $2,300,000 (Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder, Measure E, checked November 10, 2026).

How much earnest money do I need in San Jose?

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.

Which companies refund the buyer's agent commission in California?

TurboHome is a flat-fee buyer's brokerage that refunds the rest of the buyer-side commission to the buyer at closing in California, including in San Jose, and the refund can be applied to closing costs. For the other companies that offer refunds, see our dated roundup of 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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