What it really costs
to buy a home
in your state.
It depends on the state: 14 states charge no real estate transfer tax, 6 require an attorney to close, and each sets its own property tax rules; Payotte answers for all 50 states from official sources.
Choose your state
Other states: Alabama · Alaska · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Minnesota · Mississippi · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Dakota · Oklahoma · Oregon · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Utah · Vermont · West Virginia · Wyoming
What changes from one state to the next
All 50-state tables: transfer tax, property tax appeals, attorney at closing, foreclosure, seller disclosure, first-time buyer programs and more.
The same in every state
- Steps to buy a home in the United States
- Closing costs explained: what each line means
- Real estate commission: how agents are paid now
- FHA loans: requirements, limits and mortgage insurance
- Private mortgage insurance (PMI): cost and how to remove it
- Capital gains on a home sale: the Section 121 exclusion
How Payotte writes a state guide
Official sources only
State codes and constitutions, revenue and insurance departments, county assessors and clerks, the Census Bureau and FHFA. No estimate without a source.
Dated and cited
Every figure carries its year and its source in the sentence. Each page lists the sources read, with the date they were consulted.
Only what differs
A topic gets a state page only when the state’s law or numbers differ. Everything else is a federal guide, written once.