Transaction coordinator in Pennsylvania: PAR agreement dates, licensing and costs

What does a transaction coordinator do on a Pennsylvania deal?

The standard Pennsylvania resale contract is the Standard Agreement for the Sale of Real Estate, form ASR, from the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS. The current version was released in September 2025, and like the rest of PAR's standard forms it is available only to active members. A coordinator therefore works from the agent's executed copy, and PAR's own legal staff articles are the best public guide to how it reads.

The coordinator's part starts the day the agreement is signed. They count the contingency periods from that date, get the deposit to the broker's escrow account, track the inspection and its negotiation window, follow the mortgage commitment date and keep the title company supplied. Through closing they keep the file in order for the broker. Pennsylvania draws its licensing line in an unusual place, so that part is worth reading before you hand anything over.

Does a transaction coordinator need a license in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has no transaction coordinator license, and it also has no clear rule on what an unlicensed assistant may do. PAR says so frankly in its guide to unlicensed assistants: sorting tasks is hard "since there is no law/regulation/guidance that lays this out." The principle is that only a licensee may do licensed activity, and anyone may do the rest.

PAR then offers a list it says is not guaranteed. On the licensed side it puts discussing properties with consumers, hosting open houses, showings, telemarketing and negotiating or filling out contracts. On the unlicensed side it puts routing inquiries to licensees, placing signs and lockboxes, writing marketing, general clerical work and, by name, "managing transactional paperwork (transaction manager)." It also warns that agents and brokers who let unlicensed people do licensed work have been sanctioned by the State Real Estate Commission.

A second PAR article gives a working example. An unlicensed assistant calling a seller only to confirm the buyer's mortgage commitment arrived is likely within the rules. If the seller then asks about the commitment, the assistant has to pass the question to the salesperson. Drafts are fine too, as long as a licensee reviews them completely. That is a good description of how an unlicensed Pennsylvania coordinator should work: confirm, collect and draft, and leave every substantive answer to the agent.

Which deadlines in the PAR agreement does a coordinator track?

PAR's article on counting days sets the base rule. Days run from the execution date, excluding the day the agreement was signed and including the last day of the period. They are calendar days, not business days. Several periods have defaults that apply when a blank is left empty, which is where a careful coordinator earns their fee.

The September 2025 revision changed how financing reads. According to PAR's note on the update, the mortgage contingency now offers three choices: a mortgage contingency, not applicable because the buyer won't take a mortgage, or waived, where the sale is not contingent on financing. The commitment date moved into its own box beneath the contingency. A coordinator should check which option was chosen before chasing a lender, because the choice decides which financing terms apply. To count all of these from the execution date, use the contract deadline calculator, or read our walkthrough of day-counting rules by form.

When does a Pennsylvania seller have to disclose?

Before the agreement is signed. Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law requires a seller to disclose known material defects on a property disclosure statement and to deliver a signed, dated copy to the buyer before the seller and buyer sign the agreement of transfer. On a listing, the coordinator makes sure the completed statement is in the file and has gone to the buyer side before any offer is accepted. On a buyer file, they check it arrived.

Who handles the deposit, title and settlement in Pennsylvania?

When a broker holds the deposit, the timing is set by regulation. Under 49 Pa. Code §35.324, a broker must place money belonging to someone else in escrow by the end of the next business day after receiving it. When a buyer's check comes with an offer, the rule lets the broker hold it until acceptance and then deposit it within 1 business day.

Title runs through a title company or title agent, and the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania says every title insurance company and title agent in the state must be licensed. The transfer tax is collected by the county Recorder of Deeds when the deed records, and in Pennsylvania it deserves its own section.

How does the Pennsylvania realty transfer tax work?

The state charges 1% of the value of the property, and the Department of Revenue notes that county recorders often collect an additional local transfer tax with it. In an answer to taxpayers, the department says the local portion is usually 1%, but some larger localities charge more. Philadelphia is one, and its rate is covered on the Philadelphia page.

Custom and law pull in different directions here. Traditionally one party pays the state portion and the other pays the local portion, and the agreement records that split. But the department is clear that the contract doesn't relieve either party of responsibility for the full tax, because grantor and grantee are jointly and severally liable. A coordinator's job is to make sure the agreed split shows up correctly on the settlement statement.

Which associations and MLSs serve Pennsylvania?

The Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS publishes the standard forms and the monthly state housing report. Local associations handle membership and MLS access. In the southeast and center of the state, Bright MLS is the system: its member associations include the Greater Philadelphia Association of REALTORS, Tri-County Suburban REALTORS for Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties, the Bucks County Association, the Greater Harrisburg Association for Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties, and the Lancaster County Association.

How busy is the Pennsylvania market?

PAR reported just over 10,260 home sales in September 2026, down nearly 9.5% from September 2025 and down 10% from August. The statewide median price fell 4.5% from August to $315,000, though it was 6% higher than a year before. Listings rose 1.6% over the month to 46,549.

Those figures come from PAR's September housing report, which RPR builds from MLS data on single-family homes and condominiums. Pennsylvania's markets vary widely, and the Philadelphia page carries Bright MLS figures for the southeast, where the median price runs well above the statewide number.

What changes across Pennsylvania?

The southeast. Philadelphia and its suburbs share Bright MLS with Delaware, Maryland and parts of New Jersey. Philadelphia adds a city transfer tax far above the usual local rate, a city certificate for property sales and a city lead law. The Philadelphia page covers each one.

Harrisburg and Lancaster. Central Pennsylvania associations in Harrisburg and Lancaster are Bright members too. Files there use the same PAR agreement, and the local transfer tax is the place to check for variation, since the department says rates differ by locality.

Across the state. The PAR agreement is the common thread. Its defaults, such as the 10-day inspection period when the blank is empty, apply wherever the form is used. What changes from county to county is the local tax and, outside Bright's territory, the MLS, so a coordinator confirms both when a file opens.

What does a transaction coordinator cost in Pennsylvania?

Two Pennsylvania TC companies publish their prices. One Pennsylvania-area company lists $450 a transaction for contract to close in Pennsylvania. A Mechanicsburg company that serves one national brokerage's agents lists $400 a file in Pennsylvania, with no retainer or minimum. Nationally, our October 2026 look at 21 published price cards found single-side fees from $300 to $550, and most firms bill nothing for a deal that falls through. Set those against a salaried hire with the fee per file calculator.

How do you hire a transaction coordinator in Pennsylvania?

Because the Commission hasn't drawn a clear line, the hiring conversation has to. Ask the coordinator to describe a call to the other side about a mortgage commitment, and listen for whether they stop at confirming receipt. Ask whether they ever fill out contract terms. PAR lists that as licensed work.

• Do they know the September 2025 changes to the mortgage contingency?
• How do they track the inspection, negotiation and decision periods?
• Do they check the transfer tax split against the agreement?
• What do they charge if the agreement terminates?

Then compare their answers with our checklist for transaction coordinators.

Freelance TC, TC company or DeedSpring: which fits a Pennsylvania agent?

The table sets the usual options side by side. A good freelance TC is worth every dollar on a messy file. What most agents are really paying for, though, is someone who never misses a date and always chases the lender. Software does that on every file at once.

To see what the gap means across a year of files, put your numbers into the TC fee per file calculator.

Compare plans on the DeedSpring pricing page.