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NEW YORK, Aug 07, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. (Nasdaq: RATE) shows that the cost of getting a mortgage continues to rise despite a soft housing market. The 2007 average closing cost of $2,736 has gone up to an average of $3,118 in 2008, a 14% increase. In the study's geographical breakdown, New York City leads the nation at an average fee of $4,016, with Texas, Buffalo, Miami and Oklahoma rounding out the top five. North Carolina is the least expensive area with an average fee of $2650, replacing Indiana (now #45 with an average fee of $2878) at the bottom of the list. To view the complete study and analysis of the data, as well as tips on what to look for in closing costs when getting a mortgage, go to http://www.bankrate.com/closingcosts
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"Often times, consumers forget about the added fees involved in buying a home," said Holden Lewis, senior reporter with Bankrate.com. "Closing costs can be extremely expensive if not researched thoroughly. Keeping closing costs at a minimum can make a big difference to homebuyers during difficult economic times."
Bankrate's Closing Cost study was conducted in June and July of 2008 by obtaining four to nine good faith estimates 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 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.
2008 closing costs averages
2008 2008
2008 2007 closing 2008 2007 closing
rank rank State costs rank rank State costs
1 1 New York - NYC $4,016 30 14 Mississippi $3,059
2 2 Texas $3,975 31 28 Arkansas $3,048
3 NA New York - 32 13 Louisiana $3,042
Buffalo $3,845 33 48 Nevada $3,039
4 3 Florida - Miami $3,683 34 38 Washington $3,028
5 8 Oklahoma $3,558 35 20 Virginia $3,007
6 9 New Mexico $3,465 36 34 Montana $2,970
7 7 New Jersey $3,432 37 44 Wisconsin $2,940
8 4 Pennsylvania $3,411 38 18 Rhode Island $2,932
9 16 Alaska $3,409 39 26 Minnesota $2,929
10 24 Colorado $3,358 40* 21 New Hampshire $2,922
11 NA California 40* 23 North Dakota $2,922
- San Francisco $3,321 42 31 Georgia $2,900
12 5 Ohio $3,317 43 43 Nebraska $2,891
13 17 California - LA $3,250 44 32 Utah $2,883
14 35 Kentucky $3,213 45 51 Indiana $2,878
15 27 West Virginia $3,201 46 30 Vermont $2,872
16 11 Connecticut $3,200 47 49 Illinois -
Chicago $2,869
17 25 Michigan $3,191 48 NA Illinois -
18 NA California Springfield $2,826
- Sacramento $3,179 49* 50 Wyoming $2,804
19 41 Oregon $3,161 49* 36 Iowa $2,804
20 6 Hawaii $3,134 51 40 South Dakota $2,797
21* 39 Alabama $3,130 52 29 Maine $2,792
21* 12 Massachusetts $3,130 53 45 Missouri $2,757
23 19 Maryland $3,118 54 42 Kansas $2,668
24 15 Tennessee $3,117 55 47 North Carolina $2,650
25 37 South Carolina $3,103
26 10 Delaware $3,098 2008 average $3,118
27 46 Arizona $3,096 2008 median $3,086
28 22 District of 2007 average $2,736
Columbia $3,086 2007 median $2,692
29 33 Idaho $3,064
*Indicates tie
About Bankrate, Inc.
The Bankrate network of companies includes Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Mortgage-calc.com, Nationwide Card Services, Savingforcollege.com, Fee Disclosure and InsureMe. 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. In 2007, Bankrate.com had nearly 60 million unique visitors. Bankrate.com provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 75 partners, including Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), America Online (NYSE: TWX), The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times (NYSE: NYT). Bankrate.com's information is also distributed through more than 500 newspapers.
NOTE TO EDITORS: The information contained in this release is available for print or broadcast with attribution to Bankrate.com.
For more information contact:
Chris Spagnuolo
Public Relations Manager
cspagnuolo@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8671
SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.
http://www.bankrate.com
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