Hawaii ranks 20th in US for mortgage closing costs
The state's average title and origination fees on a $200,000 loan in 2008 totaled $3,134
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It costs more to get a mortgage in Hawaii this year than it did in 2007, but compared to the rest of the nation, the Aloha State is faring better.
Hawaii is the 20th-most expensive state for average origination and title fees at $3,134, according to Bankrate's annual survey of closing costs released yesterday. The figure is based on a $200,000 mortgage.
But even though the closing costs are up from $3,008 in 2007, Hawaii's ranking continued dropping relative to the rest of the nation after the state finished sixth in 2007 and third in 2006.
Nationwide, the average cost of a mortgage this year was $3,118. The fees in the survey don't include taxes, insurance or prepaid items such as prorated interest or homeowner association dues.
New York was the highest at $4,016 followed by Houston at $3,975. North Carolina was the least expensive at $2,650.the least expensive at $2,650.
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Hawaii is the 20th-most expensive state in which to get a mortgage, according to Bankrate's annual survey of closing costs.
Nationwide Closing Costs
State rankings for average mortgage closing costs for 2008 based on a good-faith estimate for a $200,000 loan.
RANK OF CITY |
CLOSING COSTS |
|
1. New York-NYC |
$4,015 |
2. Texas |
$3,975 |
|
3. New York-Buffalo |
$3,845 |
4. Florida |
$3,683 |
5. Oklahoma |
$3,558 |
20. Hawaii |
$3,134 |
-- U.S. |
$3,118 |
Source: Bankrate.com |
|
The average origination and title fees on a $200,000 mortgage this year totaled $3,134, down from $3,008 in 2007 when the Aloha State finished sixth in the rankings. In 2006, Hawaii was third.
Nationwide, the average cost of a mortgage this year was $3,118. The fees in the survey don't include taxes, insurance or prepaid items such as prorated interest or homeowner association dues.
For the second straight year, New York, Texas and Florida are the most expensive states in which to get a mortgage, according to the survey released yesterday.
Fees in New York City were highest, averaging $4,016. Houston came in second, with fees averaging $3,975. After that came Buffalo, N.Y., with fees averaging $3,845, and then Miami, at $3,683.
North Carolina had the least expensive closing costs in the survey, at an average of $2,650. In 2007, Indiana took the last spot.
The annual survey of online lenders is conducted by obtaining fee estimates for a $200,000 mortgage in each state's most populous city. Bankrate also surveyed Springfield, Ill., Buffalo, San Francisco and Sacramento, Calif., just in case Chicago, New York and Los Angeles were unrepresentative. It turns out that it didn't matter much. Cities in the same state weren't far apart in total closing costs.
New York tops the list for the fourth year in a row for two reasons. First, origination fees are swollen by taxes that the state levies directly on lenders, which are passed along to consumers. Second, lawyers customarily conduct closings in New York. Many closings are attended by at least three attorneys (for the buyer, seller and lender). In some other states, especially in the West, closings are conducted by title agents and escrow officers who charge less than lawyers.
Even as the housing market has slumped in the last three years, fees have gone up, said Mike Kratzer, president of FeeDisclosure.com, a Bankrate company that provides consumers with information to help them cut their mortgage-transaction costs.
He said appraisal fees have crept up recently, as lenders ask appraisers to do more thorough, time-consuming work. During the housing boom, lenders favored appraisers who did the job quickly and inexpensively. Above all, lenders favored appraisers who justified house prices that, in retrospect, were too high.
Now lenders want appraisers to document trends: not just prices for comparable homes in the past 60 days, but also whether prices are higher or lower than they were six or nine months ago. Kratzer said lenders are stricter about what appraisers can use for comparables. As a result, he said, some appraisals take more time, and therefore charge more.
As for lenders' fees, Kratzer sees two opposite trends. Some lenders consolidate fees. Instead of charging separate fees for underwriting, processing and document preparation, they lump them into a lender's fee. Often, this lender's fee is more than the formerly separate fees added together. On the other end of the spectrum, some lenders have added e-mail and PDF and document-printing fees.
"You would think that with technology, they would charge less, not more," Kratzer said.