Closing costs in Arizona: what buyers and sellers pay, with worked examples

What’s in the term “closing costs”

“Closing costs” has no single definition, which is why published percentages disagree. On this page the dollar examples cover only title insurance, escrow and recording, the charges with published rates that could be read for this page. These stay outside the examples because they depend on you:

• Loan charges. They come from your lender’s forms.
• Prorations. Your contract sets how property tax and HOA amounts are divided.
• HOA charges. See the limits below.
• Agent compensation. It’s whatever your own agreements say, and you fill it in. Compensation is negotiable and isn’t set by law, and this page doesn’t suggest a figure.
• Loan payoffs and liens. A seller’s existing debts are paid from the proceeds, so they reduce what the seller receives.

Worked example: title, escrow and recording

Title, escrow and recording come to these amounts across both sides of the sale, using one family of filings so the arithmetic is simple to follow. These are examples only, not quotes or averages. Each figure comes from the filing named under the table, checked on November 2, 2026, and a company may have filed newer rates since, so your own title or escrow company’s quote and your lender’s forms replace all of them. The prices and the 80% loans are round numbers for the arithmetic. They don’t describe any home or any area, and they don’t suggest a loan size.

Charge, whoever pays it	$500,000 sale	$1,000,000 sale
Owner’s title policy, standard coverage	$2,155	$3,545
Basic escrow rate	$1,392	$2,002
Escrow service fee, sale with a loan	$400	$400
Lender’s title policy, standard form, issued with the owner’s	$100	$100
Recording a deed and a deed of trust	$60	$60
Total	$4,107	$6,107

The loans are $400,000 and $800,000. At a $2,000,000 sale with a $1,600,000 loan, the same lines are $5,445, $3,002, $400, $100 and $60, for a total of $9,007.

Sources and dates: the title lines are from Stewart Title Guaranty’s Arizona manual, Zone 1 (Maricopa and Pinal), effective January 22, 2025. The escrow lines are from Stewart Title Company’s filing, effective February 24, 2025. Recording is $30 per instrument under A.R.S. § 11-475. Companies are named here only because their filings are the source, and none is recommended. You may choose any title company.

The lender may want more coverage. The same manual prices an extended coverage lender’s policy, issued with a standard owner’s policy, at 65% of the basic rate on the loan amount. That’s $1,219, $1,943 or $3,046 at these three loan sizes, and it would bring the totals to $5,226, $7,950 or $11,953. Ask your lender which policy it requires.

Options can add to it. The manual lists a closing protection letter, an option at $25 for each party who takes one.

Title insurance: what the coverage costs

An owner’s title premium depends on the amount of insurance and the coverage you choose. Stewart Title Guaranty’s manual sets each coverage as a percentage of its basic rate, and First National Title Insurance Company’s 2023 Arizona manual uses the same three percentages. This table shows Stewart’s dollars.

Owner’s coverage	$500,000	$1,000,000
Standard coverage (100% of the basic rate)	$2,155	$3,545
ALTA Homeowner’s policy (110%)	$2,371	$3,900
Extended coverage (150%)	$3,233	$5,318

At $2,000,000 the same three are $5,445, $5,990 and $8,168. Above $1,000,000, the manual adds $19 per $10,000 or fraction of it. These dollars come from one title insurer’s manual, so ask your own title company for its figure. Arizona law keeps these prices apart from escrow: rates for escrow services and title policies “shall not be combined” (A.R.S. § 6-846).

Escrow: three filings, three prices

Escrow rates differ by company, so compare quotes. The three filings below are shown side by side and not averaged. Each figure is the basic rate for a sale handled in Maricopa County.

Filing (effective date)	At $500,000	At $1,000,000
Pioneer Title Agency (October 30, 2024)	$1,260	$1,860
Stewart Title Company (February 24, 2025)	$1,392	$2,002
Title Alliance of Arizona (March 1, 2025)	$1,486	$2,067

At $2,000,000 the basic rates are $2,660, $3,002 and $3,067, in the same order. For a sale with a new loan, each filing adds a service fee:

• Pioneer: a $220 buyer’s rate and a $220 seller’s rate.
• Stewart: $400.
• Title Alliance: $550, which includes recording fees for up to 4 documents.

Pioneer’s table stops at $300,000, so its figures here are calculated from its filed rule: $1,020 plus $12 per $10,000 up to $1,000,000, then $8 per $10,000. Stewart and Title Alliance add $10 per $10,000 above $1,000,000.

Filed rates can come down. Filings also list discounts and special rates, each with its own conditions. BlueInk Title Agency’s filing, for example, reserves the right to negotiate fees in a signed written agreement. Ask what applies to your sale.

Is there a transfer tax in Arizona?

No percentage transfer tax on an Arizona home sale turned up in the statutes read for this page, and the state constitution bars new ones. Article 9, Section 24 says no government may impose any new tax or fee on selling or transferring real property, with an exception for what existed on December 31, 2007. The one transfer fee found in statute is $2 per deed or contract, and it’s already included in the recording fee (A.R.S. § 11-1132). Your settlement statement is the final check.

HOA charges at resale

An association can charge the seller up to $400 for resale disclosure and related transfer services, under the statutes for planned communities and condominiums (A.R.S. §§ 33-1806 and 33-1260).

HOA charge	Limit	Note
Resale disclosure, lien estoppel and other transfer services	$400 in total	Charged to the member or unit owner, collected no earlier than close of escrow
Rush fee	$100	When the work must be done within 72 hours
Update fee	$50	The owner may ask for an update once 30 days have passed
More than one association	Check each	The disclosure must say so when each has its own report and fee
A title transfer fee in the declaration	No dollar figure here	The disclosure must state its amount and purpose, so read it

Arizona law generally voids transfer fees written into recorded documents, but an exception covers certain fees paid to an association for a purpose the document authorizes (A.R.S. § 33-442). Regular assessments continue, and the HOA documents state them. Check your contract for who bears these charges.

Loan charges: read your lender’s forms

Your lender must give you the dollar figures, and they replace any estimate here. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says a Loan Estimate must arrive within three business days of receiving your application, and a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you close. Compare the two forms line by line. A cash buyer has no loan charges, and the service fee and lender’s policy lines above change too.

Who pays what

Your contract and your written instructions decide who pays, and the filings read for this page don’t assign these charges for you. Local agent and lender guides commonly describe the seller paying the owner’s policy, the buyer paying the lender’s policy and loan charges, and the two sides splitting the escrow fee. Treat that as custom, not a rule. The current Arizona REALTORS® purchase contract couldn’t be read for this page, so check your contract for each line.

Charge	What the sources say
Owner’s title policy	The filings set the price, not the payer.
Lender’s title policy and loan charges	Your lender’s forms list them for the loan you take.
Basic escrow rate	One filing says rates are “apportioned among the parties in accordance with the instructions of the parties”.
Escrow service fee	Stewart Title Company charges half to each side “unless otherwise instructed in writing”. Pioneer lists a buyer’s rate and a seller’s rate.
Recording	Charged at the county’s cost.
HOA disclosure fee	The statute lets the association charge the seller.
Property tax	The first half is due October 1, and the second half March 1. The contract sets any proration.
Agent compensation	Arizona employment agreements must set out compensation (A.R.S. § 32-2151.02), so it’s in your own written agreements.
Credits between buyer and seller	No source read here sets them. They’re in your contract.

What you can negotiate

These are the parts you can negotiate or compare:

• Who pays each charge, in the contract.
• Credits from one side to the other, in the contract. Ask your lender whether it limits them.
• Compensation, in your written agreements.
• Which title company. On a sale with a federally related loan, a seller can’t require the buyer to buy title insurance from a particular company as a condition of the sale (12 U.S.C. § 2608).
• Escrow and title quotes. Ask two or more companies, and ask each to name its current filing.

This site carries an advertisement from Lawyers Title. Its rates aren’t used on this page, and you may choose any title company.

Before you close

• Ask for a written quote from your title or escrow company, using your price and loan.
• Compare your Loan Estimate with your Closing Disclosure.
• Read your contract’s lines on title, escrow, HOA fees and prorations.
• Confirm wiring instructions as the buying guide describes.
• A second home can change your loan and your property tax. The area pages cover each area’s homes and HOAs. To talk through a specific home, book a consultation.