Mortgage lender closing cost rankings in New Jersey (2025)

New Jersey is an attorney state, meaning a licensed attorney must be present at closing — this adds a legal fee line item that buyers should budget for separately from title charges. The state uses mortgages (not deeds of trust) and follows a judicial foreclosure process, which can be lengthy. New Jersey imposes a Realty Transfer Fee (RTF) on the seller, calculated on a tiered basis tied to sale price; buyers are not typically responsible for this fee, though an additional mansion tax of 1% applies to residential purchases over $1,000,000 and is paid by the buyer. Title insurance in New Jersey operates under a prior-approval rate system regulated by the Department of Banking and Insurance. Prepayment penalties on residential mortgages are prohibited in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. 46:10B-2 and the Home Ownership Security Act. The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance oversees mortgage lender licensing and consumer complaints related to residential lending.

Conventional loans dominate New Jersey's purchase market, accounting for 80.3% of originations (50,500 loans) in the 2024 HMDA data — consistent with the state's higher home prices and the prevalence of borrowers with stronger credit profiles. FHA loans represent a meaningful 15.9% share (9,989 originations), likely reflecting first-time and lower-down-payment buyers in more affordable parts of the state. VA loans account for 3.7% (2,347 originations); New Jersey has military installations but no outsized concentration of active-duty personnel compared to mid-Atlantic peer states. USDA loans are nearly absent at 0.1% (65 originations), reflecting the state's largely suburban and urban character.