New York has the highest closing costs in the United States and Missouri the lowest, with a 43 percent spread between the two states, Bankrate Inc. reported in its 2006 National Closing Cost Survey.
The survey, which relied on data from the Web sites of online lenders in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, collected data on closing costs for a hypothetical 30-year, fixed-rate loan of $200,000 for a buyer with good credit and a 20 percent down payment.
New York, Texas, Hawaii, Ohio and Florida were the five states with the highest closing costs. In New York, closings fees totaled $3,887, compared with $2,713 in Missouri. Missouri had the lowest closing costs in the nation, followed by Michigan, New Hampshire, Montana and Wyoming.
Closing costs averaged $3,024 nationwide, including points, origination fees, appraisal, title insurance and 14 other categories. At $1,060, title insurance fees in New York were 60 percent higher than the U.S. average of $663, and double the $513 charged in Missouri. New Yorkers were also asked for more in attorney, closing or settlement fees ($607, versus the U.S. average of $362), and for title search, plat drawing, name search and endorsements ($374 versus $196 nationally). New Yorkers paid slightly less than the national average for appraisal ($334 versus $343).
The survey did not include taxes, governmental fees and escrow fees in closing costs, which can vary widely from state to state.
In conjunction with the survey, Bankrate commissioned a Roper poll of 1,005 homeowners. Sixty percent said their closing costs were about what their lender had said they would be, while 13 percent said they paid more than they had expected to. About 8 percent said their closing costs turned out to be less than their lender’s estimate.
