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With mounting mortgage origination fees, mortgage closing costs rose 6 percent to $2,402 in the past year, according to an analysis by Bankrate.com.
Origination fees, which are typically paid up-front to lenders for processing loans, increased eight percent to $1,730, while third-party fees grew by 1 percent to $672.
Hawaii's average closing cost of $2,919 is the highest in the country. Alaska ($2,675), South Carolina ($2,658), California ($2,639) and New Mexico ($2,566) round out the top 5 list.
"It's unlikely that you will move to Wisconsin solely to pay lower closing costs, but you should shop around and compare fees from different loan originators to make sure you get the best deal in your area," said Polyana da Costa, senior mortgage analyst with Bankrate.com, in a statement.
To collect its data, which excludes taxes, title fees, property insurance, association fees, interest and other prepaid items, Bankrate surveyed up to 10 lenders each state plus the District of Columbia in June 2013. The average closing costs are based on estimates for a $200,000 mortgage for a single-family home with a 20 percent down payment. Costs include fees charged by lenders and third-party fees for services such as appraisals.
Here's a list of the top 19 most expensive states by mortgage closing costs:
quicklist:1 category: lender's origination fees: $1,970 title: Hawaii text: $2,919
quicklist:2 category: lender's origination fees: $1,925 title: Alaska text: $2,675
quicklist:3 category: lender's origination fees: $1,935 title: South Carolina text: $2,658
quicklist:4 category: lender's origination fees: $1,977 title: California text: $2,639
quicklist:5 category: lender's origination fees: $1,807 title: New Mexico text: $2,566
quicklist:6 category: lender's origination fees: $1,840 title: North Carolina text: $2,558
quicklist:7 category: lender's origination fees: $1,804 title: New Jersey text: $2,545
quicklist:8 category: lender's origination fees: $1,919 title: Oklahoma text: $2,519
quicklist:9 category: lender's origination fees: $1,798 title: Florida text: $2,517
quicklist:10 category: lender's origination fees: $1,742 title: Delaware text: $2,502
quicklist:11 category: lender's origination fees: $1,803 title: Ohio text: $2,496
quicklist:12 category: lender's origination fees: $1,816 title: Georgia text: $2,490
quicklist:13 category: lender's origination fees: $1,690 title: Texas text: $2,468
quicklist:14 category: lender's origination fees: $1,920 title: Pennsylvania (tie) text: $2,460
quicklist:15 category: lender's origination fees: $1,797 title: North Dakota (tie) text: $2,460
quicklist:16 category: lender's origination fees: $1,826 title: District of Columbia text: $2,449
quicklist:17 category: lender's origination fees: $1,767 title: Montana text: $2,446
quicklist: 18 category: lender's origination fees: $1,782 title: Louisiana text: $2,443
quicklist: 19 category: lender's origination fees: $1,816 title: Maryland text: $2,441