How much should lender fees be on a $400,000 loan?
The usual answer multiplies a percent band by your loan amount, and at this size that method misleads more than at any smaller one. Here is the public record instead: what lenders reported charging on real loans of this size under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
A $400,000 loan sits inside a single measurement band, $300K to $500K. For conventional purchase loans in 2024:
| Loan size | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300K to $500K | $1,325 | $2,570 | $5,775 |
Source: HMDA public loan data, 2024, national, Section A only
So the direct answer: on a $400,000 conventional purchase, the middle of the public record is about $2,570, and half of all loans this size landed between roughly $1,300 and $5,800. Now the percent arithmetic: 1 percent of $400,000 is $4,000, which is more than 50 percent above the actual median. The work of originating a loan does not double when the loan doubles, and the record shows it: from the $150K to $300K band to this one, the median moved from $2,036 to $2,570 while typical loan size roughly doubled. On a $400,000 loan, dollar benchmarks beat percent rules by a wide margin.
Points are why the 75th percentile stretches to $5,775. One point on a $400,000 loan is $4,000, paid once to lower the rate, and it books into the same Section A total this table measures. A $5,500 total carrying a point and a visibly lower rate is a different deal from $5,500 in bare fees. Judge fees and rate together, never either alone.
Refinancing at this size ran cheaper on the median in 2024: $2,302 for rate and term. Cash out refinances ran far higher, at a $6,479 median.
For other loan sizes and programs, the full size banded dataset is on our State of Mortgage Fees page, downloadable as CSV. Nearby sizes: $200,000, $300,000, $500,000.
Common questions
Is a $6,000 lender fee total high on a $400,000 loan?
It sits just above the 75th percentile of the 2024 record for conventional purchases this size. Points are the first thing to check: a point and a half would be $6,000 on this loan.
Do these figures include title, appraisal, and escrow?
No. This table measures Section A only, the lender's own charges. Third party services and prepaids are separate kinds of money, covered in our closing costs vs prepaids guide.
What about FHA and VA loans this size?
In the $300K to $500K band, 2024 medians were $3,927 for FHA purchases and $1,095 for VA purchases. The full table by program is on the data page.
This page answers the general question. What it cannot answer is where your numbers sit. The AI reads your Loan Estimate line by line and grades your Section A total and your rate against this same public data, priced for your credit, your down payment, and your loan type. One upload, one $29 report, and your document is deleted once it is delivered.