All-in cost first, always. Estimate only — not a loan quote or pre-approval.
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Tell us your income and savings instead, and we'll work out the max home price and a qualification signal for Pennsylvania.
How much house can I afford in Pennsylvania? →This is the state-only rate — almost all PA municipalities/school districts add their own local realty transfer tax on top (commonly ~1% more, making ~2% combined a common rule of thumb, though it's not set by statute). Philadelphia is the biggest exception: a 3.578% city tax on top of the 1% state tax, for a combined 4.578% total.
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency's primary 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage for first-time homebuyers statewide (non-first-time buyers can qualify in targeted areas or as a discharged veteran); subject to income and purchase-price limits.
0%-interest second mortgage for down payment and/or closing costs, up to the lesser of 4% of the purchase price or $6,000, repaid over 10 years; must be paired with a PHFA first mortgage, minimum 660 credit score.
Federal tax credit worth 20%-50% of annual mortgage interest paid (capped at $2,000/year) for the life of the loan, for qualifying first-time buyers (first-time requirement waived for veterans and buyers in targeted areas).
Fewer listings, fewer buyers, and sellers who have a reason to be on the market in December. Here is what a winter discount is actually worth on a $400,000 house — in monthly payment, in lifetime interest, and in the seller concessions a quiet market makes possible — and the three ways a winter purchase goes wrong.
Pennsylvania's transfer tax is advertised at 1%, but local add-ons usually double it. Here's what closing on a $340,000 Pennsylvania home actually costs.
The operational guide to buying property with a partner, friend, sibling, or parent — credit and DTI mechanics, title vesting, a clause-by-clause co-ownership agreement, and how the exit actually works.
A month-by-month plan for the year before you buy: what to do in each phase, what never to touch, how to document every dollar, and how to survive closing day.
Pennsylvania guide
Look up Pennsylvania's realty transfer tax and you'll find a clean, reassuring number: 1%. On the statewide median sale price of $340,000, that's $3,400. Manageable.
That number is almost always wrong in practice. The 1% is the state's share only, and nearly every Pennsylvania municipality and school district levies its own realty transfer tax on top. In most of the state the local add-on lands around another 1%, making roughly 2% combined the everyday rule of thumb, or about $6,800 on that same $340,000 house. It isn't set by statute, so it changes at township lines.
Then there's Philadelphia, which charges 3.578% as a city tax on top of the state's 1%, for 4.578% combined. On a $340,000 sale, that's $15,565 in transfer tax alone. That single line item is larger than the midpoint of the entire statewide closing-cost range.
Pennsylvania is not a cheap state to close in. Buyer closing costs here average about 4.28% of the purchase price, 6th-highest in the country, and that excludes agent commissions. Below is where the state-specific money goes. For the mechanics of individual fees, see our full line-by-line breakdown of closing costs.
A note before you start: this is general education, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Every figure below is a statewide number from CalculatorByState's sourced dataset, and your county, municipality, lender, title company, and contract will all move the total. Local transfer tax rates are set municipality by municipality, so the only rate that matters is the one for the address you're buying. Your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure are authoritative. Use this to sanity-check them, not to replace them.
A 3-5% range against Pennsylvania's $340,000 median sale price gives you roughly $10,200 to $17,000, midpoint around $13,600. Nudge the price to $350,000 and the same range becomes about $10,500 to $17,500.
Read the full Pennsylvania guide →9 min read · Updated 2026-08-24