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MReport_December2017

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TH E M R EP O RT | 7 MDWELL Closing Time Here's how closing costs stack up around the country. B uying a first home can be overwhelming. Between unfamiliar terminology, long-term commitments, and the basic fear of signing off on some - thing they'll regret later, there are plenty of intimidating elements facing first-time buyers. That's magnified by the fact that some buyers don't take the time to edu - cate themselves about the process beforehand. In fact, a February 2017 ClosingCorp study found that more than half of homebuy - ers wind up surprised by their closing costs—and some are even unaware going in that there will even be any closing costs. In an October 2017 report de - tailing ClosingCorp's most recent closing cost data, ClosingCorp CEO Bob Jennings said, "[It is] vital for our company to keep educating borrowers and helping lenders improve the accuracy of their loan estimates in order to eliminate any surprises." For October 2017, the national average for closing costs reached $4,876. ClosingCorp's closing cost data is assembled from over 20,000 real estate service providers nationwide. The data represents the average closing costs at the national level, which includes the lender's title, owner's title, settlement ap - praisal, transfer taxes, and recording fees. It also includes costs outside of closing, including services that in- spect the home, roof and property for pests and land surveys. The two core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) with the highest average closing costs should come as no surprise: New York-Newark- Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA top the pyramid with average total closing costs of $9,046, based on an aver - age purchase price of $418,833. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA is close behind with average clos- ing costs of $8,907, and an average purchase price of $779,526. On the other end of the spec- trum, the two CBSAs with the lowest average closing costs are Muncie, Indiana ($2,785 against an average purchase price of $104,900) and Marion, Indiana ($2,813 against an average pur - chase price of $84,250). Actually, Indiana holds four of the five on ClosingCorp's list of CBSAs with lowest average closing costs. (Kokomo, Indiana, and Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana, came in third and fourth, respectively). NEW YORK $9,341 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA $12,573 DELAWARE $8,663 MARYLAND $7,211 VERMONT $6,839 Five States with Highest Average Closing Costs Five States with Lowest Average Closing Costs IOWA $3,138 SOUTH DAKOTA $2,996 INDIANA $2,934 MISSOURI $2,905 NORTH CAROLINA $3,206

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