While the average cost of a mortgage closing in Ohio fell from $4,165 a year ago, other states saw even sharper declines. Utah and Idaho, for example, fell from the third and fifth most expensive states, respectively, to a tie for the 23rd on this year’s list, the survey found.
“Even though it got cheaper in Ohio to close on a mortgage, it also got cheaper in other places,” said Ted Rossman, a spokesman for Bankrate.com. “That’s why Ohio actually climbed the list even though the state’s costs have gone down.”
Nationwide, the average cost to close on a mortgage fell by 7 percent to $3,754 in the past year, according to the survey. New York was the most expensive state for mortgage closings with an average cost of $5,435. Missouri was the least expensive with mortgage costs averaging $3,006.
Researchers attributed the trend to a sharp decline in title insurance and other other third-party fees, which fell 12 percent from 2011, while origination fees edged down 1 percent.
“This is the second year in which lenders are required to estimate third-party fees within 10 percent of the final cost,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst. “It seems like they’re getting more accurate, which helps explain the sharp decrease in these fees over the past year.”
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