New York Named Most Expensive State to Close on a Home as Costs Rise Across US

NEW YORK, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. reveals that the costs associated with buying a home may are on the rise.  Bankrate's 2010 Closing Costs Survey reveals that the average origination and title fees on a $200,000 mortgage this year totaled $3,741, up from $2,732 in 2009.  The full results of the study can be seen here: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/2010-closing-costs/.

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In the study's geographical breakdown, New York leads the nation at an average fee of $5,623, with Texas, Utah, San Francisco, and Los Angeles rounding out the top five.  Arkansas is the least expensive area with an average fee of $3,007, replacing Nevada, now number 34, at the bottom of the list.

One of the reasons for such a dramatic rise in the average estimated closing costs across the nation has to do with new regulations implemented in January of this year.  When providing a potential borrower a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of costs, regulations now require lenders to provide a Title and Closing Fee estimate within 10 percent of what the final cost will be; in previous years, estimates could fall lower on the spectrum without penalty for the lender.  

"The big rise in average closing costs may scare some homebuyers, but it's important to keep things in perspective," said Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. "Increased regulation on lenders' GFEs means more accurate estimates and less expenses popping up for consumers on the back end."

For this study, Bankrate surveyed one area in 49 states, two areas in California (Los Angeles and San Francisco) and the District of Columbia.  Researchers picked a ZIP code in some of the largest cities in each state and requested information on the closing costs for at $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.  Bankrate's survey includes lenders' origination fees and title and settlement fees, and not taxes or prepaid items.

About Bankrate, Inc.

The Bankrate network of companies includes Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Mortgage-calc.com, Nationwide Card Services, Savingforcollege.com, Fee Disclosure, 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.  Bankrate, Inc. was acquired by Apax Partners, one of the world's leading private equity investment groups, in September 2009.  Apax operates across the United States, Europe and Asia and has more than 30 years of investing experience. For more information on Apax, visit: www.Apax.com.

SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.

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