New York State has the Highest Mortgage Closing Costs in the Country

NEW YORK, Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bankrate, Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) announced today that it has released its 2006 National Closing Cost Survey. The survey provides a comparison of lender, title and settlement fees in 51 geographic locations, which includes cities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state listing includes their current ranking, compared to their 2005 position, a detailed breakdown of average closing fees for that state, and a printable worksheet for consumers to compare average costs to their lender's fees.

In conjunction with the Closing Cost Survey, Bankrate commissioned a national poll conducted by Roper asking 1,005 consumers about their closing cost fees. Of the homeowners surveyed, 13 percent said that they paid more on their closing costs than what they were told by their lender. Those who found their lender's estimates to come in lower than expected totaled 8%. However, the majority of homeowners (60%) found that their closing costs were about the same as the estimate they received from their lender.

"No matter where you live, it pays to shop around," said Daniel P. Ray, editor in chief of Bankrate.com. "Our closing cost estimates, teamed with our mortgage rate table data, provide consumers the knowledge and confidence needed during the home purchasing process," Mr. Ray added.

Bankrate's Closing Cost Survey was conducted by obtaining eight to 10 good faith estimates in each state from the Web sites of online lenders. Researchers picked a ZIP code in some of the largest cities in each state and requested information on the closing costs for at $200,000 loan there. They requested fees on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for a borrower with a 20 percent down payment and good credit to buy a single-family house. To view the survey, go to http://www.bankrate.com/closing.

   Average Closing Fees by State:

   1.   New York            $3,887
   2.   Texas               $3,578
   3.   Hawaii              $3,407
   4.   Ohio                $3,354
   5.   Florida             $3,349
   6.   Connecticut         $3,284
   7.   Alaska              $3,265
   8.   New Mexico          $3,239
   9.   Kentucky            $3,206
   10. Alabama              $3,189
   11. Oklahoma             $3,181
   12.  Pennsylvania        $3,175
   13.  New Jersey          $3,158
   14.  Massachusetts       $3,143
   15.  Oregon              $3,137
   16.  Mississippi         $3,102
   17.  California          $3,097
   18.  Louisiana           $3,056
   19.  Idaho               $3,049
   20.  Georgia             $3,046
   21.  Tennessee           $3,016
   22.  Nevada              $2,993
   23.  Colorado            $2,988
   23.  South Carolina      $2,988
   25.  Delaware            $2,984
   26.  Wisconsin           $2,972
   27.  Maine               $2,961
   27.  Rhode Island        $2,961
   29.  Vermont             $2,950
   30.  Minnesota           $2,919
   31.  Illinois            $2,918
   32.  Utah                $2,913
   32.  Virginia            $2,913
   34.  North Carolina      $2,905
   35.  Arkansas            $2,904
   36.  North Dakota        $2,895
   37.  Washington          $2,887
   38.  Maryland            $2,876
   39.  Nebraska            $2,874
   40.  Iowa                $2,841
   41.  West Virginia       $2,823
   42.  South Dakota        $2,817
   43.  Indiana             $2,793
   44.  Kansas              $2,787
   45.  Arizona             $2,784
   46.  Washington, D.C.    $2,772
   46.  Wyoming             $2,772
   48.  Montana             $2,737
   49.  New Hampshire       $2,734
   40.  Michigan            $2,714
   51.  Missouri            $2,713

The study does not include taxes, other governmental fees and escrow fees.

The Closing Cost Poll was conducted July 21-23 by Roper Public Affaires and Media, a part of GfK NOP. A total of 1,005 adults aged 18+ were interviewed across the United States. The margin of error for results based on the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The margin of error for subgroups may be higher.

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate, Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) ("Bankrate") owns and operates Bankrate.com, a leading Internet consumer banking marketplace. Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels, including banking, investing, taxes, debt management and college finance. Bankrate is the leading aggregator of more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in 575 markets in 50 states. In 2005, Bankrate.com had over 46 million unique visitors. Bankrate provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 75 partners, including Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) , America Online (NYSE: TWX) , The Wall Street Journal (NYSE: DJ) and The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) . Bankrate's information is also distributed through more than 400 national and state publications. In addition to Bankrate.com, Bankrate also owns and operates FastFind, an internet lead aggregator and Mortgage Market Information Services, Inc. and Interest.com, Inc., each of which publishes mortgage guides and financial rates and information.

   For more information contact:

   Kayleen J. Keneally
   Director, Corporate Communications
   kkeneally@bankrate.com
   (917) 368-8677