NJ Realtors® Denounces New Tax Hike on Home Sales
NJ Realtors® Denounces New Tax Hike on Home Sales
Trenton, N.J. (Feb. 25, 2025) — Today, in the FY 2026 budget, Gov. Murphy announced a proposed increase on the Assessment on Real Property Greater than $1 Million, which is the highest tier of the Realty Transfer Fee, which New Jersey Realtors strongly condemns.
This assessment would increase from its current one percent rate to two percent for certain real property purchases between $1 million and $2 million, and would increase to three percent for certain real property purchases in excess of $2 million. This would apply to both residential and commercial sales.
While a $1 million home has traditionally been considered a luxury property, the reality is that inflation and the dramatic rise in home prices have placed that price tier firmly in the middle class for many parts of New Jersey.
New Jersey is a high-cost state and affordability has become a significant concern considering the average sales price for single-family home rose to $698,804 in 2024. Comparatively, that number was $309,000 in 2014.
“Beyond being an unreliable source of government funding, this tax only creates further roadblocks towards the goal of affordability in New Jersey,” said NJ Realtors CEO Doug Tomson. “We should be incentivizing people of all price brackets to sell to mitigate the inventory crisis we have on residential homes. Rather than imposing an additional fee on an evolving post-Covid commercial market, we should be encouraging the transformation of these properties to drive economic growth.”
Inventory in New Jersey has been below average for the past decade, with just 12,042 single-family homes for sale in December of last year, when in December of 2014 there were 41,165 single-family homes for sale on the market.
New Jersey Realtors® looks forward to working with the State Legislature and the Governor on finding a common-sense solution to protect and incentivize New Jersey’s housing market.
New Jersey Realtors, the voice for real estate in New Jersey for 100 years, is a non-profit organization serving the professional needs of more than 55,000 Realtor and Realtor-Associate members engaged in all facets of the real estate business. In addition to serving the professional needs of its members, NJ Realtors is dedicated to enhancing the ability of its members to conduct their business successfully while maintaining the preservation of private property rights. Realtor is a registered collective membership mark, which may be used only by real estate professionals who subscribe to the Realtor organization's strict Code of Ethics and are members of the national, state and local Realtor organizations. For more information, visit njrealtor.com.
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