Survey: Average Closing Costs Top $3,000
New York Has Highest Mortgage-Related Fees
POSTED: Friday, August 11, 2006
UPDATED: 9:04 am EDT August 11,
2006
  |
NEW YORK -- When you go to close on that house you're buying, be prepared to pay more in closing costs than what you were told in the good-faith estimate.
Bankrate.com senior financial analyst Greg McBride said that closing costs -- what you pay for things such as title searches and application fees when you buy a home -- can vary widely within a given area and that the estimates don't include things such as government fees and other prepaid items. He said a Bankrate.com survey found that while 60 percent of those asked said the estimate was right on the mark, 13 percent said they paid a higher amount. Eight percent said they actually paid less. McBride said consumers should also beware of junk fees.Those are inflated costs for things such as document preparation that can boost overall closing costs. The Bankrate.com survey found that, nationwide, the average closing fee tops $3,000. In a survey of charges by lenders in major cities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the survey found the nationwide average is $3,024.Homebuyers in Buffalo, N.Y., paid the highest closing costs, at an average of $3,887, according to the survey.Texas was No. 2 on the list, followed in the top five by Hawaii, Ohio and Florida.The lowest average closing costs were found in Missouri, at $2,713 for a home in St. Louis.The difference between New York and Missouri was $1,174 in the survey, a lot of money for first-time buyers who typically scrimp to save for a down payment and closing costs.Bankrate.com's survey was conducted by obtaining eight to 10 good-faith estimates in each state from the Web sites of online lenders.Researchers picked a ZIP code in some of the largest cities in each state and requested information on the closing costs for a $200,000 loan. They requested fees on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for a borrower with a 20 percent down payment and good credit to buy a single-family house.
| State List: Closing Cost Survey | |
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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