Refinance closing costs increase but remain below inflation rate

Much of the cost control can be attributed to technology, says CoreLogic exec.

The national average closing costs for a single-family property refinance increased by $88 to $2,375 in 2021, data from CoreLogic showed.

While refinance closing costs were 3.8% higher than 2020’s reported amount of $2,287, they were less than 1% of the average refinance loan amount of $304,909. Refi closing costs were also relatively lower compared to the average closing costs for purchase transactions, which require title insurance and several inspection fees.

Still, homeowners were able to get good deals on refinance closing costs, according to CoreLogic executive Bob Jennings.

“While refinance closing costs increased marginally, annual increases in fees still remain below the 7% average rate of inflation seen in 2021,” Jennings said. “Much of the cost control can be attributed to the growing use of technology solutions by both lenders and settlement services providers, which enabled the industry to scale up capacity while holding the line on closing costs.”

The highest average closing costs (without specialty taxes) were Hawaii ($4,730), New York ($4,679), Florida ($3,956), Texas ($3,588) and District of Columbia ($3,370). Including taxes, New York ($10,084), Pennsylvania ($7,614), Delaware ($7,223), Florida ($5,821) and California ($5,762) posted the highest closing costs.

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