The Fee You No Longer Pay
New Jersey used to charge buyers 1% on any purchase over $1,000,000. It was called the mansion tax. Buyers paid it at closing.
That ended on July 10, 2025. The seller pays it now.
The median sale in Summit was $1,608,000. Two years ago a buyer at that number wrote a check for about $16,080 on top of everything else. Today that buyer does not.
Nobody sends a letter about this. Ask your lender to confirm your cash to close reflects it.
Confirm your figures with your real estate attorney. I am a REALTOR®, not a tax advisor.
The Agreement Comes First Now
New Jersey requires a written buyer agreement before showings. That rule came out of the NAR settlement, and it protects you.
It means the fee conversation happens before you fall in love with a house. Nothing gets discovered at closing.
There is no standard fee. Any agent who says there is one is guessing or selling. What is customary varies market to market, sometimes town to town.
That matters more than it sounds. Say an agent normally works a market where sellers pay 3%, and writes 3% into your offer here, where sellers typically pay 2%. Every competing offer nets the seller more than yours. You lose the house. Nobody tells you why.
An agent who knows what is customary in the town you are buying in is protecting your offer.
My fee is set in writing before we see a house. It does not change. If a seller offers more, you get the difference as a credit.
Price the Band, Not the Town
Town medians are the wrong number to shop against.
Summit’s median was $1,608,000 across 210 sales. The most competitive price point is not the entry level. It is $1,750,000. Homes there sold at 113% of asking in an average of thirteen days.
The hot band sits above the median, not below it. A buyer who budgets to the median and expects the median experience is shopping in the wrong water.
Every town does this. Every town guide on this site breaks it out by bedroom count and price band.
Where Buyers Still Have Room
Twelve months of GSMLS sales through July 2026. Sale-to-list tells you where you will be bid up and where you will not.
| Town | Median | Days | Sale to list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peapack-Gladstone | $895,000 | 40 | 94% |
| Far Hills | $995,000 | 49 | 97% |
| Mendham | $1,350,000 | 54 | 100% |
| Warren | $1,200,000 | 45 | 100% |
| Bernardsville | $1,050,000 | 35 | 100% |
| Watchung | $999,999 | 33 | 100% |
| Tewksbury | $950,000 | 43 | 101% |
And where you will not.
| Town | Median | Days | Sale to list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Ridge | $1,260,000 | 18 | 127% |
| Montclair | $1,350,000 | 21 | 121% |
| Maplewood | $1,100,000 | 20 | 114% |
| South Orange | $1,136,100 | 22 | 112% |
| Verona | $717,000 | 35 | 112% |
| New Providence | $1,109,000 | 23 | 110% |
| Summit | $1,608,000 | 20 | 108% |
Same region. Same train lines. Thirty points of difference.
If your list includes towns from both tables, you are running two different strategies at once. Know which one you are in before you write.
Money
Get underwritten, not prequalified. A prequalification is an opinion. An underwritten approval is a decision.
Know your number before you tour. Not your maximum. Your number.
Rates move, so this guide does not quote one. Current rates.
Budget past the purchase. Taxes here are real money and vary by town. Ask what a specific house pays, not what the town averages.
The Inspection
This is where I earn it.
I know what defects cost. That turns repair requests into arithmetic instead of argument.
Most deals do not die over what the inspector found. They die because nobody could put a real price on it. A roof near the end of its life becomes a standoff. One side guesses high. The other guesses low.
I bring written estimates from the vendors who would do the work. A real number ends it.
Before real estate I worked for developers as an asset manager, a construction project manager, and a licensed New Jersey general contractor. Ran multi-million dollar construction budgets. Managed close to 1,000 apartments.
Get your own inspection either way. I am not a substitute for one.
Winning Without Overpaying
Price is one term. Sellers weigh the whole offer.
- Financing. Cash closes. Conventional with real money down closes. Low-down financing at the top of your approval closes less often.
- Appraisal. An appraisal gap clause tells the seller what happens if the number comes in low. It is often worth more than another ten thousand in price.
- Inspection. Narrow the scope. Structural, roof, mechanical, water. Not the door that sticks.
- Timing. Match the seller’s date. It is free to you and it matters to them.
- Escrow. A larger deposit signals you are not walking.
You do not win these by paying the most. You win by being the offer least likely to fall apart.
Attorney Review
New Jersey does this differently and it surprises people who move here.
Once both sides sign, a three business day attorney review period starts. Either attorney can cancel the contract for any reason during it. Sometimes they disapprove and send changes. Sometimes they cancel.
You are not under contract until review ends. The house can still go to someone else.
Two things follow. Have your attorney lined up before you write, not after. And keep moving during review. Order the inspection. Do not wait.
What You Actually Pay at Closing
Price is the number people talk about. Cash to close is the number that matters.
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Down payment | Your number, not the maximum you qualify for |
| Lender fees and points | Ask for a written loan estimate early |
| Title insurance and search | Usually the buyer in New Jersey |
| Attorney | Flat fee in most of the state |
| Inspections | Home, radon, oil tank sweep, sewer where it applies |
| Prepaid taxes and insurance | Escrow setup |
| Mansion tax | No longer yours. Seller pays since July 2025. |
Oil tank sweep. Older houses in these towns sometimes have buried tanks. Finding one after closing is your problem. Finding one before closing is a negotiation.
Taxes vary by town and by house. Ask what the specific property pays and whether it has been reassessed recently. A town average will mislead you.
The Commute
Most of these towns sit on NJ Transit’s Morris and Essex Lines with Midtown Direct service to Penn Station. Summit runs 35 to 50 minutes depending on express or local.
Summit is also where Gladstone Branch riders transfer, which makes it one of the better connected stations in the region.
Ride it before you buy. At the hour you would actually ride it.
Buyer FAQ
Do buyers pay the mansion tax in New Jersey?
Not anymore. Since July 10, 2025 the seller pays it. Buyers used to pay 1% on purchases over $1,000,000. Confirm your figures with your real estate attorney.
Do I have to sign something before seeing a house?
Yes. New Jersey requires a written buyer agreement before showings. It sets the fee in advance so nothing is a surprise later.
What are realtor fees in New Jersey?
There is no standard. Fees are negotiable and always were. What is customary varies by market, and an agent who knows what is customary where you are buying is protecting your offer.
What is attorney review in New Jersey?
A three business day period after both sides sign, during which either attorney can cancel or propose changes. You are not fully under contract until it ends.
How competitive is Summit?
The median sale went to contract in twenty days at 108% of asking across 210 sales in the twelve months through July 2026. The $1,750,000 band moved fastest, at 113% in thirteen days.
Where can I still negotiate?
Peapack-Gladstone closed at 94% of asking over forty days. Far Hills at 97% over forty-nine. Both are low-volume markets, so selection is thinner.
Should I waive the inspection to win?
No. Narrow it instead. Structural, roof, mechanical and water, with a credible number attached to anything found.
Sources
- Sale figures: Garden State MLS (GSMLS), August 2025 through July 2026.
- Mansion tax: P.L. 2025 c.69, N.J.S.A. 46:15-7.2, and NJ REALTORS® guidance.
