Hawaii had the highest loan fees charged directly by lenders, averaging $1,922 in the survey, and New Hampshire had the lowest, at $1,401. Loan fees in New York and Texas were within $80 of the national average of $1,672. Thirty-five of the 52 cities in the survey had lenders' fees within $113 of that average, either higher or lower.

One lender, many prices
It's typical -- heck, well-nigh de rigueur -- for a national lender to charge different amounts from state to state. "If you go to a Wal-Mart or other store, you go to one location and they're priced differently than another location," says David Routen, senior vice president for Internet sales for Countrywide, the nation's biggest mortgage lender. "Nobody is priced the same in all areas. Even McDonald's and Wendy's, they're going to be priced differently in different locations, and mortgages are very similar to that."

There was more variation in title and closing charges. Fees averaged $1,353, with 40 of the 52 cities falling within $198 on either side of that figure, but title insurance and settlement fees pushed New York and Texas to the top of the heap as the most expensive states. In most states, title insurance averages less than $600, according to Bankrate's survey. In New York and Texas, title insurance premiums are well above $1,000 on a $200,000 loan.

In Texas, title insurance premiums are set by the state, and the premium for a $200,000 loan is $1,423. That pays for the insurance policy, as well as the title search. Texas title agencies are allowed to tack on other fees for services such as setting up escrow accounts and delivering documents. The closing usually is conducted at the title agency.

People, taxes boost N.Y. cost
In New York, the closing usually is conducted at a lawyer's office and is attended by attorneys for the buyer's mortgage lender, the title company, the buyer and the seller. Sometimes an attorney for the seller's mortgage lender is on hand, too. Presumably, they're not working pro bono, so they're drawing paychecks for being there. That adds to the expense of closing a mortgage in New York.

Then there's New York's mortgage recording tax, which varies depending on which county, city, borough or transportation district the house is in. The mortgage recording tax includes something called the "special additional tax," which the lender is obligated to pay, and isn't supposed to be passed on directly to the borrower as a separate line item. In Buffalo, that tax is one-quarter of 1 percent.

Naturally, the lender doesn't ultimately pay this tax. "As such, multistate lenders might have a quarter-point higher fee for New York so they don't have to absorb it," says Ellen Bitton, owner of Park Avenue Mortgage in Manhattan. "Even though they're paying for it, they're passing it along."