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New ClosingCorp Survey Finds More Than 50 Percent of Homebuyers Are Still Surprised by Closing Costs

February 15, 2017 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

• 58 percent of those surveyed said that their initial loan estimates had changed or been revised prior to closing. Most of the buyers (67 percent) who received a revised estimate were located in the Northeast; and 63 percent had home values between $500,000 and $1,000,000.

• When asked which fee estimates were changed, the top three answers were: closing costs (12 percent); insurance costs (6 percent); and taxes (5 percent).

• According to the homebuyers, the most common reasons for the changes in the closing costs were a change to the loan based on what they qualified for (31 percent); the lender estimate was not accurate (27 percent); and there was a change to the loan based on their request (23 percent).

• 72 percent of homeowners said their loan estimates and closing disclosures were delivered electronically. Interestingly, the vast majority of these homeowners (72 percent) fell into the Millennial age range of 18-34 years old.

• Half of all homebuyers (50 percent) selected their title company. Of those who did not select their own title company, 35 percent said their realtor selected it for them, suggesting that realtors have more influence since they are the homebuyers’ first touch point.

“As more and more Millennials become first-time homebuyers, TRID or Know Before You Owe has made it easier for them to understand the costs and fees they’ll face at closing. Yet there are still surprises during the closing process,” said Bob Jennings, chief executive officer of ClosingCorp. “Lenders and realtors need to keep educating borrowers on the costs and fees associated with closing to alleviate surprises.”

“In addition, our survey shows that 52 percent of lenders were ‘off’ on their initial loan estimates, so there’s significant room for improvement. Using automated fee technology can help prevent lenders from under- or over-estimating closing costs and mitigate the risk of costly variance issues post-closing.”

The ClosingCorp National Closing Costs Survey was conducted via online questionnaire January 2 – 5, 2017 and targeted 1,000 adults nationwide who have purchased a home in the past twelve months (i.e., January 1, 2016 – January 1, 2017). The margin of error was +/- 3.1 percent.

About ClosingCorp

Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., ClosingCorp owns and operates the premier source of intelligence for closing costs and service providers in the U.S. residential real estate industry. Through innovative solutions, progressive technologies and strong alliances, the company delivers timely, accurate and transparent results that help optimize closing processes and services for mortgage lenders, title and settlement companies and real estate professionals. Clients rely on ClosingCorp to help improve efficiencies and mitigate risk. For more information, please visit www.closing.com.