Hawaii Tops List of States With Highest Mortgage Closing Costs

Aug. 6, 2013 — -- intro:

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:1category: lender's origination fees: $1,970title: Hawaii text: $2,919

quicklist:2category: lender's origination fees: $1,925title: Alaska text: $2,675

quicklist:3category: lender's origination fees: $1,935title: South Carolinatext: $2,658

quicklist:4category: lender's origination fees: $1,977title: Californiatext: $2,639

quicklist:5category: lender's origination fees: $1,807title: New Mexicotext: $2,566

quicklist:6category: lender's origination fees: $1,840title: North Carolinatext: $2,558

quicklist:7category: lender's origination fees: $1,804title: New Jerseytext: $2,545

quicklist:8category: lender's origination fees: $1,919title: Oklahomatext: $2,519

quicklist:9category: lender's origination fees: $1,798title: Floridatext: $2,517

quicklist:10 category: lender's origination fees: $1,742title: Delawaretext: $2,502

quicklist:11category: lender's origination fees: $1,803title: Ohiotext: $2,496

quicklist:12category: lender's origination fees: $1,816title: Georgiatext: $2,490

quicklist:13category: lender's origination fees: $1,690title: Texastext: $2,468

quicklist:14category: lender's origination fees: $1,920title: Pennsylvania (tie)text: $2,460

quicklist:15category: lender's origination fees: $1,797title: North Dakota (tie)text: $2,460

quicklist:16category: lender's origination fees: $1,826title: District of Columbiatext: $2,449

quicklist:17 category: lender's origination fees: $1,767title: Montanatext: $2,446

quicklist: 18 category: lender's origination fees: $1,782title: Louisianatext: $2,443

quicklist: 19 category: lender's origination fees: $1,816title: Marylandtext: $2,441