Closings costs including lender’s title, owner’s title, settlement, appraisal, transfer taxes and recording fees average nearly $5,000 nationwide, according to an analysis by ClosingCorp.
Using real rates and fees as reported by more than 20,000 real estate professionals, ClosingCorp Network determined the national average closing costs was $4,876, based on an average national purchase price of $271,363.
ClosingCorp found that those average costs vary greatly from state to state.
“Closing costs can vary significantly, depending on the state or county a homebuyer lives in. For example, five counties in New York—Kings, Queens, Bronx, Richmond and Suffolk—had the highest closing costs, going well above the national and state average, due to having some of the highest transfer taxes in the country,” ClosingCorp CEO Bob Jennings said in a release.
“Of course, many homebuyers are still surprised closing costs are even required — making it vital for our company to keep educating borrowers and helping lenders improve the accuracy of their loan estimates in order to eliminate any surprises,” Jennings added.
ClosingCorp identified the states with the highest average closing costs as District of Columbia ($12,573); New York ($9,341); Delaware ($8,663); Maryland ($7,211); and Vermont ($6,839). The states with the lowest closing costs were North Carolina ($3,206); Iowa ($3,138); South Dakota ($2,996); Indiana ($2,934); and Missouri ($2,905).
The metropolitan areas with the highest average closing costs were New York ($9,046); San Francisco ($8,907); Dover, Del. ($8,147); Washington, D.C. ($8,065); and Reading, Pa. ($7,863).
The metropolitan areas with the lowest average closing costs were Indiana cities of Muncie ($2,785); Marion ($2,810); Kokomo ($2,831); and Indianapolis ($2,878); and Jefferson City, Mo. ($2,903).
Editor's note: This story was updated with the national average purchase price used in the calculation.