A recent news article seemed to indicate that closing costs have risen 37-percent, citing a recent survey as evidence linking the increase to the new federal rule requiring mortgage brokers to give buyers more reliable estimates of how much it will take to close the deal.

KYW’s Michelle Durham reports that Chris Coyne Finance Professor at St. Joseph’s University isn’t certain that costs have gone up that much:

“I would tend to be in the corner that costs really haven’t changed, but the estimates are truer. There’s a difference. Costs probably have not really risen significantly — certainly not 37-percent. It’s the perception because the costs are more accurate, which means they are higher.”

Arlene Shaw, owner of Plymouth Rock Search and Abstract, says during the housing bubble, most of the mortgages they closed were conventional mortgages with 20 percent down. Now, most are FHA loans insured — few are conventional:

“FHA has now just in April of this year raised their mortgage insurance premium. Basically, that’s a large of the increase in the closing costs.”