New York, NY, August 10, 2006--Bankrate, Inc., released its 2006 National Closing Cost Survey, and New York had the highest of all.
The survey provides a comparison of lender, title and settlement fees in 51 geographic locations, which includes cities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state listing includes their current ranking, compared to their 2005 position, a detailed breakdown of average closing fees for that state, and a printable worksheet for consumers to compare average costs to their lender's fees.
In conjunction with the Closing Cost Survey, Bankrate commissioned a national poll conducted by Roper asking 1,005 consumers about their closing cost fees. Of the homeowners surveyed, 13 percent said that they paid more on their closing costs than what they were told by their lender. Those who found their lender's estimates to come in lower than expected totaled 8%. However, the majority of homeowners (60%) found that their closing costs were about the same as the estimate they received from their lender.
"No matter where you live, it pays to shop around," said Daniel P. Ray, editor in chief of Bankrate.com. "Our closing cost estimates, teamed with our mortgage rate table data, provide consumers the knowledge and confidence needed during the home purchasing process," Ray added.
Bankrate's Closing Cost 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 at $200,000 loan there. 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. To view the survey, go to www.bankrate.com/closing.
