We have written in recent blog posts that now is the time to buy your next home in North Carolina and South Carolina. Combine low mortgage rates and lower housing prices, and you have an incredible housing value.  We believe these will be the days we all look back and wish we had bought another house.  As billionaire investor John Paulson recently said – “If you don’t own a home, buy one. If you own one home, buy another one. If you own two homes, buy a third. And lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”

Now comes more great news: North Carolina and South Carolina are two of the most affordable states in terms of mortgage closing costs. Bankrate.com introduced its 2011 Closing Costs Survey and only Arkansas has a lower average closing cost for a homebuyer.

Assuming a $200,000 loan, a 20 percent down payment, and good credit, the following results appear on the survey:

• NC ranked  No. 51 on the survey with an average of $3,410 in closing costs (the survey included San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington DC along with 50 states)

• SC ranked  No.31 on the survey with an average of $3,856 – an improvement of two spots since 2010!

• The average of all on the survey was $4,070

• The most expensive state was New York at $6,183

This is great news for homebuyers in the Carolinas!  Lower closing costs, low mortgage rates, and great housing prices equals BUY NOW!!