Closing costs up 8 ½ percent in Massachusetts

Published in REALTOR(R) Digest August 21, 2006
A newly released national survey of real estate closing costs found that home buyers in Massachusetts pay more, on average, for loan origination, title and document preparation, and other settlement services than the typical home purchaser, but far less than consumers in New York and Texas, who face the highest closing costs in the U.S. The survey, by Bankrate.com, reflects state averages for 21 related settlement fees associated with the closing costs on a $200,000 loan to a buyer with an excellent credit history who made a down payment of at least 20 percent on a single-family home in the state’s largest city. Nationally, the typical home buyer paid an average of $3,024 at closing, excluding taxes and escrow fees, which reflects a 10 percent increase over the 2005 average closing cost of $2,748. Home buyers in New York were found to pay the most for closing costs at an average of $3,887, while residents in neighboring Connecticut (which placed 6th) faced the highest closing costs in New England, paying an average of $3,284. In Massachusetts, home buyers currently pay $3,143, on average, at closing, which is up about $250 over last year, and places the Bay State 14th overall among the U.S. states for highest closing fees. New Hampshire residents pay among the lowest closing costs in the country, ranking 49th nationally, at an average of $2,734.