It’s getting more expensive to get a mortgage these days. Once a year Bankrate.com gathers closing cost data from all 50 states and compares how those costs have changed from the year prior. Costs are split into: (1) lender fees, and (2) non-lender fees, a class which includes fees for third-party services such as appraisals and credit reports.
The figures are based on a $200,000 purchase price with 20% percent down payment, and assume that the borrower is of prime credit quality with a 740 FICO score or higher.
The survey specifically excludes property-specific fees such as homeowners insurance, real estate taxes, and title search and insurance. It also excludes per diem interest, mortgage insurance (as with an FHA loan, for example), and other prepaid items.
As compared to the year prior, closing costs climbed 6% in 2013; which follows a whopping 37% average increase in 2012. Closing costs on a $200,000 house in Florida average $4,418 — the 12th-highest amount in the country, according to Bankrate’s survey.
You may wonder what’s behind the rising costs. Lenders are facing higher compliance costs as compared to recent years. The regulatory changes of last decade’s Dodd-Frank Act have required mortgage lenders to monitor, track, and manage more parts of the mortgage approval process; and many have hired additional personnel to ensure the new rules are followed. Lenders are passing their higher per-loan costs on to consumers.