NEW YORK, Aug. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The average cost to close on a mortgage in the United States dropped seven percent over the past year to $3,754, according to Bankrate.com's (NYSE: RATE) eighth annual closing costs survey, which was released today. Title insurance and other third-party fees fell 12 percent from 2011, while origination fees edged down one percent.
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"This is the second year in which lenders are required to estimate third-party fees within 10 percent of the final cost. It seems like they're getting more accurate, which helps explain the sharp decrease in these fees over the past year," said Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's senior financial analyst. "The main lesson of this survey for consumers is to shop around for at least three different estimates. While no one is going to move to a new state just because closing costs are lower, it's important for people to realize that there is variation even within their neighborhood, and that they can save by being an educated consumer."
For the third straight year, New York State has the nation's most expensive closing costs at an average of $5,435. The next most expensive states are Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida and Oklahoma. The least expensive state is Missouri ($3,006 on average), which is joined by Kansas, Colorado, Iowa and Arkansas among the five cheapest states.
To view the entire survey with results from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, click here: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/2012-closing-costs/closing-costs-by-state.aspx.
Bankrate surveyed up to 10 lenders in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia in June 2012. Researchers 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.
About Bankrate, Inc.
Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, our flagship website, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including CreditCards.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwide Card Services, InsuranceQuotes.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, InsureMe, Bankrate.com.cn, CreditCards.ca, NetQuote.com, and CD.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, Bankrate generates over 172,000 distinct rate tables capturing on average over three million pieces of information daily. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 80 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.
For more information:
Ted Rossman
Public Relations Manager
Bankrate, Inc.
[email protected]
(917) 368-8635
SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.
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