New York Has Highest Mortgage Closing Costs for Second Straight Year, According to Bankrate, Inc.

Texas, Utah and California Also Rank Among Most Expensive States

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Jul 18, 2011, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nationwide, the average origination and title fees on a $200,000 mortgage total $4,070, which is 8.8 percent higher than a year ago, according to Bankrate, Inc.'s (NYSE: RATE) 2011 Closing Costs Survey.

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New York leads the nation with an average fee of $6,183. Texas, Utah, San Francisco and Idaho round out the five most expensive areas. Arkansas is the least expensive area, with an average fee of $3,378.

Most of the rise in closing costs is tied to fees charged directly by lenders. On average, lenders charge about $1,614 in origination fees this year, up 10.3 percent from last year. Origination fees include lender charges for services such as underwriting and processing.

"Interest rates get a lot of attention, and rightfully so, but it's also important for consumers to compare lender fees when shopping for a loan," said Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate surveyed up to 10 lenders in each state in June 2011 and obtained online good faith estimates for a $200,000 mortgage to buy a single-family home with a 20 percent down payment. Costs include fees charged by lenders, as well as third-party fees for services such as appraisals and title insurance. The survey excludes taxes, property insurance, association fees, interest and other prepaid items.


Closing Costs
2011 rank	2010 rank	State	Origination	Title and closing	2011 total
1	1	New York	$2,210	$3,972	$6,183
2	2	Texas	$1,951	$2,994	$4,944
3	3	Utah	$1,680	$3,226	$4,906
4	4	California - San Francisco	$1,725	$3,106	$4,832
5	10	Idaho	$1,651	$2,992	$4,643
6	5	California - Los Angeles	$1,725	$2,898	$4,624
7*	7	Oklahoma	$1,605	$2,984	$4,589
7*	9	New Jersey	$1,406	$3,183	$4,589
9	8	Pennsylvania	$1,645	$2,877	$4,522
10	36	Hawaii	$1,795	$2,726	$4,521
11	22	District of Columbia	$1,477	$3,003	$4,479
12	12	Florida	$1,445	$2,973	$4,418
13	6	Alaska	$1,828	$2,569	$4,397
14	33	New Mexico	$1,593	$2,695	$4,288
15*	11	Massachusetts	$1,594	$2,650	$4,244
15*	34	Nevada	$1,673	$2,571	$4,244
17	17	Minnesota	$1,657	$2,550	$4,206
18	13	Ohio	$1,611	$2,554	$4,165
19	15	Arizona	$1,632	$2,517	$4,150
20	18	Louisiana	$1,630	$2,511	$4,141
21	21	North Dakota	$1,676	$2,456	$4,132
22	16	Wyoming	$1,654	$2,443	$4,097
23	48	Wisconsin	$1,806	$2,273	$4,080
24	47	Oregon	$1,723	$2,266	$3,989
25	26	Nebraska	$1,663	$2,308	$3,971
26*	23	Delaware	$1,519	$2,448	$3,967
26*	31	Illinois	$1,538	$2,430	$3,967
28	20	Michigan	$1,539	$2,427	$3,965
29	25	Kansas	$1,616	$2,281	$3,897
30	41	Colorado	$1,608	$2,263	$3,871
31	29	South Carolina	$1,647	$2,209	$3,856
32	39	Connecticut	$1,430	$2,412	$3,843
33	27	Washington	$1,580	$2,251	$3,831
34	46	Mississippi	$1,630	$2,199	$3,829
35	32	Tennessee	$1,501	$2,316	$3,817
36	28	Georgia	$1,526	$2,269	$3,796
37	24	West Virginia	$1,453	$2,296	$3,749
38	19	Virginia	$1,450	$2,295	$3,745
39	40	Vermont	$1,605	$2,139	$3,744
40	37	Maine	$1,608	$2,122	$3,730
41	14	Rhode Island	$1,555	$2,150	$3,705
42	38	Maryland	$1,533	$2,160	$3,692
43	42	South Dakota	$1,558	$2,124	$3,682
44	49	Montana	$1,548	$2,110	$3,657
45	45	Kentucky	$1,525	$2,102	$3,627
46	43	New Hampshire	$1,613	$1,978	$3,591
47	44	Missouri	$1,482	$2,042	$3,524
48	30	Alabama	$1,604	$1,898	$3,501
49	50	Iowa	$1,627	$1,847	$3,474
50	35	Indiana	$1,534	$1,897	$3,430
51	51	North Carolina	$1,571	$1,839	$3,410
52	52	Arkansas	$1,493	$1,886	$3,378

		Average	$1,614	$2,456	$4,070
*denotes a tie

About Bankrate, Inc.

The Bankrate network of companies includes Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Mortgage-calc.com, Nationwide Card Services, InsureMe, CreditCardGuide.com, Bankaholic, CreditCards.com and NetQuote. Each of these businesses helps consumers to make informed decisions about their personal finance matters. The company's flagship brand, Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels, including banking, investing, taxes, debt management and college finance. Bankrate.com is the leading aggregator of rates and other information on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in 575 markets in 50 states. Bankrate.com provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 75 partners, including Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), America Online (NYSE: AOL), The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times (NYSE: NYT). Bankrate.com's information is also distributed through more than 500 newspapers.