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Cape Cod adopts transfer fee on home sales over $1 million

The Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates approved the measure, which now heads to Beacon Hill and could raise $60 million annually for housing.

Depot Pond in Eastham, Mass., Jan. 24, 2026. (Veasey Conway/The New York Times)

February 20, 2026 | 3:17 PM

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After five hours of heated debate on Wednesday, the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates voted 10-5 to advance a home rule petition that would create a local real estate transfer fee on home sales over $1 million.

The measure now heads to the state legislature, the same place where similar proposals from the region have repeatedly stalled. But the urgency is growing, coming 10 months after the county declared a housing crisis.

“Lack of housing pushes out the nurses, firefighters, and teachers,” Deputy Speaker Dan Gessen said at the end of the debate. “It’s going to take a real source of funding to put our municipalities in the driver’s seat.”

The county expects fees could raise up to $60 million annually for housing initiatives.

If approved, the petition would let towns adopt the fee through a Town Meeting vote and a subsequent town election.

The fee could range from 0.5% to 4% on the portion of a home sale above a threshold of at least $1 million. For example, a $1.5 million sale with a 2% fee would apply only to the $500,000 above the threshold, generating $10,000.

Towns could also add exemptions for first-time buyers, year-round residents, and retirees on fixed incomes.

The county would collect the revenue but return 90% of it to the towns. Local governments could then use the money to buy deed restrictions, acquire land for year-round housing, or offer financial help to qualified buyers, among other tools allowed under the Seasonal Communities law.

The remaining 10% would support a year-round housing trust, overseen by Select Board appointees from participating towns, covering administrative costs and regional housing efforts.

Cape Cod’s legislative delegation also urged support, with State Senators Julian Cyr and Dylan Fernandes and State Representatives Thomas Moakley, Hadley Luddy, and Kip Diggs backing the plan in a joint letter.

“For too many families, the dream of living in the community where they grew up or where they work is slipping away,” they wrote. “This petition gives us one possible way to get this across the finish line.”

“Our towns are asking for it,” the letter continued. “Our residents are demanding action. We urge you to move this petition forward.”

Gessen said, although individual towns previously submitted their own home-rule petitions, a region-wide push could finally provide momentum: “It would give us a fighting chance at the American Dream here on Cape Cod.”