![Shopping Around for Mortgage Saves Borrowers $80,000+ Over Lifetime of Loan [New LendingTree Study]](https://realtytimes.com/images/k2/f7995b27989588df4fcf7dbb60349a4e.jpg)
Home prices are expensive, and today’s mortgage rates don’t help, but shopping around for a mortgage and comparing offers from different lenders can still save borrowers a significant amount of money.
To show just how much money those who shop around could save, we analyzed data from more than 80,000 users of LendingTree’s online loan marketplace who received two or more offers for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages from lenders in 2025. Here’s what we found.
- Borrowers could save an average of $80,024 over the life of a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage by shopping around. That’s the equivalent of saving $222 a month or $2,667 a year by choosing the best offer.
- California, Washington and Hawaii top the list of states where mortgage shoppers could benefit the most. Lifetime savings in these states are $118,393 (California), $109,012 (Washington) and $105,473 (Hawaii).
- No matter where you live, mortgage rate shopping pays off. Even in Louisiana — the state with the lowest potential savings — borrowers could still save more than $44,000 over the life of a 30-year loan, reducing monthly payments by $124.
- The average gap between the lowest and highest APRs offered to borrowers is 0.99 basis points. This figure varies by state, with Minnesota having the widest spread (1.15 basis points) and New York and Louisiana having the smallest (0.73 for both).
You can check out the full report here: https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/mortgage-shopping-study/
LendingTree's Chief Consumer Finance Analyst, Matt Schulz, had this to say:
"Life is already expensive enough in 2025. Failing to shop around for the best mortgage rates means you’re just making things even harder on yourself and your family for the foreseeable future. It is a huge missed opportunity.”
