SmartAsset, a New York financial technology firm, did the study and rankings, based on four factors:
overall borrowing costs;
ease of securing a mortgage;
cheap property taxes;
low annual mortgage payments.
It was the third year for the study.
“This is the first time Collier County has made the national Top 10. However, this is the third year in a row they have ranked in the Top 10 for Florida,” said A.J. Smith, personal finance expert and vice president of content at SmartAsset.
Collier County ranked eighth in Florida in 2016 and fourth in both 2015 and this year.
“Collier County’s ranking was likely helped by the fact that they outperformed the national averages in each of the study’s categories,” Smith said.
SmartAsset bases its rankings on $200,000 loan after a 20 percent down payment, Smith said.
SmartAsset looks at expected costs over the first five years of the mortgage.
The ease of getting a mortgage is determined by comparing the ratio of mortgage applications to mortgage origination’s in each county.
Annual mortgage payments are based on the average mortgage rates in each county.
Based on those criteria Collier County had a loan funding rate of more than 61 percent, five-year borrowing costs of $77,755, annual property taxes of $9,920 and an annual mortgage payment of $14,639.
With home prices rising, Collier County has a shortage of homes under $300,000, so the quoted costs for a mortgage and property taxes might differ widely from the information generated by SmartAsset. Also, the county sees a lot of cash buyers.
Florida counties were well-represented on this year’s list:
» Sumter County is the top-ranked spot to get a mortgage in the U.S., beating the national averages in every category.
» Three Panhandle counties are in the top 10 nationally: Walton, second; Okaloosa, fourth; and Santa Rosa, eighth.
» Indian River County cracked the national list at No. 10.
Lee County ranked 15th in Florida and 32nd in the U.S.
Source: Naples Daily News
