Conventional loans in South Carolina: conforming limit, real monthly costs, PMI timeline
South Carolina buyers using a conventional loan face the same three questions everywhere — how much down, what it costs each month, when mortgage insurance ends — with answers that depend on the state’s $300,000 median and 0.53% effective property tax. This page works them out, then covers the South Carolina rules that touch the loan.
| Conforming limit (2026, one unit) | $832,750 baseline — all 46 counties, no FHFA high-cost area |
|---|---|
| Median home price (approx.) | $300,000 — statewide order of magnitude |
| 20% down on the median | $60,000 down, loan $240,000, about $1,517/month P&I at 6.5% |
| 5% down on the median | $15,000 down, loan $285,000, about $1,801/month P&I + about $178 PMI |
| PMI ends (5% down, scheduled payments) | request at 80% after about 10 years and 4 months, automatic at 78% after about 11 years and 3 months |
| Property tax (effective) | about 0.53% — roughly $1,590 a year on the median |
| Closing practice | Attorney closing state |
The South Carolina conforming limit and where jumbo starts
In South Carolina, a one-unit conventional loan above $832,750 is jumbo in 2026. The median price of about $300,000 means the median buyer is well inside the limit even with 3% down (loan $291,000), so conforming rules apply to most purchases. Two-, three- and four-unit homes have higher limits. Every South Carolina county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.
South Carolina loan limits, county by county (2026)
No county in South Carolina qualifies as an FHFA high-cost area for 2026, so the table below is flat: $832,750 for one unit in all 46 counties, rising to $1,601,750 for a four-unit property. Limits change every January; these are the figures for mortgages acquired in calendar year 2026.
| County | 1 unit | 2 units | 3 units | 4 units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Aiken County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Allendale County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Anderson County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Bamberg County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Barnwell County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Beaufort County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Berkeley County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Calhoun County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Charleston County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Cherokee County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Chester County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Chesterfield County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Clarendon County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Colleton County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Darlington County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Dillon County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Dorchester County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Edgefield County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Fairfield County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Florence County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Georgetown County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Greenville County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Greenwood County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Hampton County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Horry County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Jasper County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Kershaw County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Lancaster County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Laurens County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Lee County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Lexington County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Marion County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Marlboro County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| McCormick County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Newberry County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Oconee County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Orangeburg County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Pickens County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Richland County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Saluda County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Spartanburg County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Sumter County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Union County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Williamsburg County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| York County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
Source: FHFA, Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026 (county list, mortgages acquired in calendar year 2026). Limits are for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans; FHA and VA use their own county figures.
The numbers: 3%, 5%, 10% and 20% down in South Carolina
Each row is the same $300,000 South Carolina home at 6.5% for 30 years — only the down payment changes. PMI is an illustrative market rate for that down payment; property tax is the state’s rough 0.53% effective rate divided by twelve.
| Down payment | Cash down | Loan | P&I | PMI (est.) | Property tax | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | $9,000 | $291,000 | $1,839 | $218 | $133 | $2,190 |
| 5% | $15,000 | $285,000 | $1,801 | $178 | $133 | $2,112 |
| 10% | $30,000 | $270,000 | $1,707 | $113 | $133 | $1,953 |
| 20% | $60,000 | $240,000 | $1,517 | — | $133 | $1,650 |
Under 20% down, conventional loans require mortgage insurance until the loan-to-value falls; the next section gives the ${e.nom} timeline. Payment tables at other amounts and rates: mortgage payment tables.
Cancelling mortgage insurance: the dates
Three dates matter: the month the balance hits 80% of the original price (you ask), 78% (the servicer must act) and the loan’s midpoint (cancellation regardless of value, if current). On South Carolina’s median with 5% down at 6.5%, the schedule reaches 80% in about 10 years and 4 months; with 3% down, about 11 years and 1 months; with 10% down, about 7 years and 11 months. Over that time the 5% buyer pays roughly $22,072 in PMI at $178 a month.
What South Carolina adds at closing
South Carolina is a strict attorney-closing state: since State v. Buyers Service Co. in 1987, the Supreme Court has held that title examination, preparing the deed and mortgage, recording and disbursing the loan proceeds are the practice of law, and later decisions (Doe v. McMaster, Matrix Financial v. Frazer) confirmed that a lender who closes without attorney supervision risks losing its lien priority. Funding is wet, with the attorney disbursing at the table. Buyers choose their own closing attorney, and state law requires the lender to tell them so in writing.
No mortgage tax or intangible tax is levied on the note in South Carolina; recording a mortgage with the county Register of Deeds costs a flat filing fee. The state deed recording fee of $1.85 for every $500 of value (Code § 12-24-10, combining a state and a county share) is a transfer tax on the deed that the seller pays and is unrelated to the loan amount. South Carolina’s deed recording fee is $1.85 per $500 (0.37%), paid by the seller; there is no mortgage tax.
South Carolina closings are conducted by attorneys; buyer costs — attorney, title, lender fees and prepaids — typically total 2% to 3% of the price.
Three South Carolina rules to read before signing
Prepayment. South Carolina’s Consumer Protection Code restricts prepayment penalties on smaller residential first mortgages and the High-Cost and Consumer Home Loans Act bars them on high-cost home loans, while larger conventional loans may carry a penalty only within the federal qualified-mortgage limits. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not buy loans with prepayment penalties, so a conforming loan will not carry one.
Spouses and title. South Carolina is an equitable-distribution state, not a community property state, so a house bought during the marriage belongs to whoever holds title until a divorce court divides marital property.
Homestead. The South Carolina homestead exemption in Code § 15-41-30 protects equity in a residence up to an amount that is indexed to inflation and currently sits in the range of roughly sixty to seventy thousand dollars per owner, doubled when spouses own the home together; verify the current year’s figure with the state.
The complete state layer — licensing, predatory-lending limits, disclosures, foreclosure — is on mortgage laws in South Carolina.
Frequently asked questions
What is the conforming loan limit in South Carolina for 2026?
The FHFA baseline of $832,750 applies statewide — none of South Carolina’s 46 counties qualifies as high-cost in 2026. With 20% down you can buy up to about $1,040,938 and stay conforming; two- to four-unit homes have higher limits ($1,066,250, $1,288,800, $1,601,750).
When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in South Carolina?
Federal law, not South Carolina law, sets the dates: request at 80% of original value, automatic at 78%, and in any case at the loan’s midpoint. On the median South Carolina price with 5% down at an illustrative 6.5%, that is roughly 10 years and 4 months and 11 years and 3 months respectively if you only make the scheduled payment.
Does South Carolina add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?
No mortgage tax or intangible tax is levied on the note in South Carolina; recording a mortgage with the county Register of Deeds costs a flat filing fee. South Carolina’s deed recording fee is $1.85 per $500 (0.37%), paid by the seller; there is no mortgage tax. South Carolina closings are conducted by attorneys; buyer costs — attorney, title, lender fees and prepaids — typically total 2% to 3% of the price.
South Carolina: where to verify
- South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC Housing): the state housing finance agency (first-time buyer loans, down payment assistance)
- South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (mortgage brokers): state regulator of mortgage lenders and brokers
- NMLS Consumer Access: check any lender’s or loan officer’s license
- FHFA conforming loan limit files: the county limits shown on this page
Links checked September 22, 2026. Researched and edited by Clément Lacaille (Tech-Bharat); how we research.
Sources
Related: Seller concessions limits: how much a seller can pay toward your closing costs, Conventional loans for condos and second homes: the extra rules, Refinancing with bad credit: what is realistic below 620, 660 and 700, Mortgage rate locks: how long to lock, what extensions cost, when to float. First home in South Carolina: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.