In early August, two Hunterdon County homes changed hands about a day apart at prices just below seven figures. A house on Stone Barn Road in Pittstown sold for $999,999 and closed August 3. A house on Ryerson Road in Flemington sold for $999,000 and closed August 4. Two weeks later, a house on Main Street in Lebanon closed at exactly $1,000,000.
Seen together, these prices show a rule that now lands on the seller's side of the closing table. Once a New Jersey home sale goes over $1,000,000, the state charges the seller a fee of 1% on the entire price. That means the first few thousand dollars above the line can cost the seller more than they bring in.
The fee moved to the other side of the table
For years, sales over $1 million carried a flat 1% fee paid by the buyer, the grantee. P.L. 2025, c. 69 was enacted June 30, 2025. It renamed that charge the Graduated Percent Fee and made it the legal responsibility of the seller. The Division of Taxation's July 2, 2025 notice sets out the schedule for deeds submitted to the county recording officer on or after July 10, 2025:
| Total sale price | Graduated Percent Fee |
|---|---|
| Over $1,000,000 up to $2,000,000 | 1% of the full price |
| Over $2,000,000 up to $2,500,000 | 2% of the full price |
| Over $2,500,000 up to $3,000,000 | 2.5% of the full price |
| Over $3,000,000 up to $3,500,000 | 3% of the full price |
| Over $3,500,000 | 3.5% of the full price |
The Division describes the fee as "a straight application of a percentage of total consideration." Its own example is a $2.75 million deed, which owes 2.5% of the whole $2.75 million, or $68,750. Once a sale passes $1,000,000, the 1% rate applies to every dollar of the price, starting with the first.
The fee also doesn't replace the ordinary Realty Transfer Fee. The state calls it supplemental to the base fee, so a seller above $1 million pays both. The full text is in the law as enacted.
The first ten thousand dollars over the line
The base Realty Transfer Fee for a standard sale over $350,000 is charged per $500 of price, at rates that rise in steps:
- $2.90 up to $150,000
- $4.25 from $150,000 to $200,000
- $4.80 from $200,000 to $550,000
- $5.30 from $550,000 to $850,000
- $5.80 from $850,000 to $1,000,000
- $6.05 above $1,000,000
At exactly $1,000,000 that schedule works out to $9,575. The Graduated Percent Fee doesn't apply, because it only reaches prices "in excess of" $1 million.
Run the same schedules at a few prices on either side of the line. The table below covers only these two state fees. Commissions, attorney fees and payoffs are left out, so the "net" column is simply price minus transfer fees.
| Sale price | Base transfer fee | Graduated Percent Fee | Both fees | Price minus fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $999,000 | $9,563.40 | $0 | $9,563.40 | $989,436.60 |
| $1,000,000 | $9,575.00 | $0 | $9,575.00 | $990,425.00 |
| $1,005,000 | $9,635.50 | $10,050.00 | $19,685.50 | $985,314.50 |
| $1,010,000 | $9,696.00 | $10,100.00 | $19,796.00 | $990,204.00 |
| $1,015,000 | $9,756.50 | $10,150.00 | $19,906.50 | $995,093.50 |
A $1,005,000 sale leaves the seller about $5,100 less than a $1,000,000 sale. On these two fees alone, the seller doesn't get back to the $1,000,000 result until the price reaches roughly $1,010,200. Every price between $1,000,001 and about $1,010,200 nets less than the round number below it.
The same step happens again at $2 million, where the rate on the whole price doubles from 1% to 2%. A $2,000,000 sale owes $20,000 in Graduated Percent Fee, and anything above that owes at least $40,000. Few Hunterdon sales reach that tier. The $1 million line is the one that comes up in ordinary negotiations here.
Why a Hunterdon listing can be bid into that band
The band above $1 million would be a curiosity if homes sold at or below their asking prices. Hunterdon's recent numbers suggest they often don't. In New Jersey REALTORS' Local Market Update for September 2026, Hunterdon County single-family homes averaged 101.5% of list price received, up from 101.0% in September 2025. Through the first nine months of 2026 the figure was 101.6%. Days on market dropped to 30 in September 2026 from 36 a year earlier.
At 101.5% of list, a home priced at $990,000 lands at about $1,004,850, right inside the band where the seller nets less than at $1,000,000. Statewide, the pressure is similar. Douglas Tomson, chief executive of New Jersey Realtors, told NJ Spotlight News in September that "there's bidding wars on properties."
Prices are also moving toward the line. The county's single-family median was $735,000 in September 2026, up 13.1% from $650,000 in September 2025. The year-to-date median through September was $690,000. Closed sales through September totaled 850, up 8.0% from 2025. The share of homes priced in the high $900,000s grows as the middle of the market rises.
What the comps near the line look like
The sales recorded in the county and listed in NJ.com's weekly roundups, including the week of Sept. 21-27, Sept. 28-Oct. 4, Oct. 12 to 18, the Oct. 12-18 top sales and Oct. 19 to 25, fall on both sides of the threshold:
- Below it: $975,000 on Back Brook Road in Ringoes and on Woodland Heights Circle in Glen Gardner; $980,000 on Distillery Road in Whitehouse Station; $985,000 on Surrey Lane in Lambertville; $995,000 on Providence Drive in Flemington.
- At it: $999,000 in Flemington, $999,999 in Pittstown, and exactly $1,000,000 in Lebanon.
- Clear of it: $1,045,000 on Schoolhouse Lane in Lebanon, $1,050,000 on Copper Penny Road in Flemington, and $1,175,000 on Haven Hill Rise in Flemington.
All three sales above the line are well past the roughly $1,010,200 break-even. A sale price like $999,999 is a public record of the number both parties agreed to. It doesn't record the reasons behind it.
These sales matter for anyone setting a price. Two homes with nearly the same features, one recorded at $999,000 and one at $1,005,000, look about $6,000 apart on a comp sheet. To the sellers, the gap ran the other direction once the state's fees came out. Price-per-square-foot comparisons near the line need that adjustment. NJ.com lists the Ryerson Road home at 3,260 square feet and $306 per square foot, and the Copper Penny Road home at 3,789 square feet, so size and price have to be read together.
Where the contract comes in
The Division of Taxation's July 9, 2025 clarification memo states that for deeds submitted on or after July 10, "the statutes put legal responsibility for payment of all transfer fees on the seller." It adds that any contract terms shifting that cost elsewhere are "private legal arrangements." The Division refers questions about how the law affects a contract to private legal counsel.
So the state collects from the seller, while the buyer and seller can still negotiate who bears the cost. For a home likely to sell somewhere between $990,000 and $1,020,000, the offer price is only part of the comparison. A seller weighing two offers needs to compare them after both transfer fees are taken out.
Those conversations can be worked through in order:
- Price the home with the full fee schedule in front of you, not just the comps.
- Compare every offer by what remains after both transfer fees.
- Bring any proposal to share the Graduated Percent Fee to your real estate attorney before you sign.
Everything here is general information about a published state fee schedule, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your attorney and accountant are the right people to confirm how it applies to your sale.
A few questions sellers ask
Does a sale at exactly $1,000,000 owe the fee? No. The schedule starts at prices "in excess of $1,000,000," so a $1,000,000 deed owes only the base Realty Transfer Fee.
Which date decides which rules apply? The Division uses the date the deed is submitted to the county recording officer. Deeds received on or before July 9, 2025 kept the old 1% buyer-paid fee, even if they were returned for corrections. Every Hunterdon closing scheduled now falls under the new rules.
How much is the fee collecting? NJ Spotlight News reported in September 2026 that, according to Treasury data, the Graduated Percent Fee had brought in nearly $70 million since the fiscal year began July 1. Realty Transfer Fee receipts rose more than 18% in August.
If your Hunterdon County home could sell anywhere near $1 million, I'm happy to sit down with you and run these two fee schedules against your comps and any offers you receive, so you can see the number you'd actually walk away with before you choose a list price. As a CPA, this is the kind of math I like to get right early. Cheryl Brunetti | Let's Connect.