Prospects shaky for real estate transfer fee

January 15, 2026

By Jennifer Smith

An array of cities and towns are asking lawmakers, again, to let them impose a fee on expensive property transactions to fund affordable housing. But even as the state’s housing crisis grinds on, the polarizing pitch seems to be facing an increasingly uphill climb.

Real estate transfer fees, a long-bubbling idea on Beacon Hill, would impose a surcharge on property sales to generate local revenue that can be directed toward building affordable housing. A proposal filed by Gov. Maura Healey during the last legislative cycle would have allowed cities and towns to impose a 0.5 to 2 percent fee on property sale proceeds over $1 million, or the county’s median home sales price, whichever is greater.

Healey’s provision failed to advance in the final housing bond bill, and the governor has not signaled eagerness to revisit the policy this cycle. Supporters nonetheless are vowing to make another push for transfer fees in the coming final year of the two-year legislative session.

Roughly a dozen different versions of transfer fee legislation have been filed. Sen. Julian Cyr, the Senate co-chair of the Legislature’s housing committee, supports the idea.

Transfer fees are not “a silver bullet” solution to the housing crisis, he said, but could be a valuable part of the answer if coupled with zoning and permitting changes. Without new streams of revenue to support affordable housing, Cyr said, “there’s no way Massachusetts can subsidize its way out of this crisis.”

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