Getting a conventional loan in South Dakota: numbers, limits and rules

Conforming limit $832,750, median about $300,000, property tax about 1.14%: those three figures decide most of what a conventional mortgage costs in South Dakota. Below, the down payment and monthly numbers at 3%, 5%, 10% and 20% down, the month PMI can end, and the state rules a conventional borrower here should know.

How much house stays conforming in South Dakota

Two numbers decide the question in South Dakota: the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 and the price you pay. Keep the loan at or under the limit — by price, by down payment, or with a conforming first plus a second lien — and you get Fannie/Freddie pricing and flexibility (3% down programs, automated underwriting, appraisal waivers). At the state median of $300,000, every scenario below is conforming. Every South Dakota county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

County-level loan limits in South Dakota for 2026

For 2026 the FHFA county list shows a single tier in South Dakota: all 66 counties at the $832,750 baseline for one unit, $1,066,250 for two units, $1,288,800 for three and $1,601,750 for four. Above those figures a loan is jumbo, whatever the county.

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.

Monthly cost on a $300,000 South Dakota home

Illustrative 6.5% 30-year fixed rate, principal and interest only; mortgage insurance at typical market rates for each down payment (it varies with credit score); property tax at the state’s approximate 1.14% effective rate. Homeowners insurance and any HOA come on top. None of it is an offer.

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.

When PMI ends in South Dakota

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 Dakota’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.

The South Dakota closing: costs and who runs it

Closings in South Dakota are handled by title companies and their closing agents; no attorney is required, though many rural transactions still involve an abstract of title that a lawyer reviews before the title policy is issued. The state follows wet-funding practice, with the lender’s money in the closing agent’s account before documents are signed and disbursement the same day. Closing-agent fees are modest, typically a few hundred dollars split between buyer and seller.

South Dakota charges no mortgage registration tax and no intangible tax; recording a mortgage with the county register of deeds costs a per-page fee only. The real estate transfer fee of 50 cents for each $500 of value (Codified Laws § 43-4-21) is paid by the seller on the deed and is unaffected by how much is borrowed. South Dakota’s real estate transfer fee is $0.50 per $500 (0.1%), paid by the seller.

South Dakota buyer closing costs typically total 2% to 3% of the price; title companies handle closings and there is no mortgage tax.

South Dakota rules that touch a conventional loan

Prepayment. South Dakota has no statute of its own banning or capping prepayment penalties on residential mortgages; the state deregulated interest rates in 1980 (Codified Laws § 54-3-1.1 lets the parties agree on any rate), and prepayment terms are likewise left to the contract, subject only to the federal qualified-mortgage limits. Federal QM rules ban prepayment penalties on most conventional loans anyway; the Loan Estimate says yes or no on page one.

Spouses and title. South Dakota is a separate-property state: a mortgage signed by one spouse alone binds only that spouse’s interest, and the lender will ask a non-borrowing spouse to sign the mortgage when the property is the couple’s home so the homestead rights described in Codified Laws chapter 43-31 are released.

Homestead. South Dakota’s homestead (Codified Laws chapter 43-31) is unlimited in value but limited in size, one acre inside a town or 160 acres outside, and it is exempt from forced sale by general creditors; a separate rule in § 43-45-3 caps the protected proceeds after a voluntary sale at $60,000, or $170,000 for owners seventy or older and surviving spouses.

The complete state layer — licensing, predatory-lending limits, disclosures, foreclosure — is on mortgage laws in South Dakota.

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in South Dakota for 2026?

For 2026, $832,750 (one unit) in all 66 South Dakota counties — the national baseline, with no county above it. The county table on this page lists the two-, three- and four-unit figures. Above the limit, the loan is jumbo and follows lender rules.

When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in South Dakota?

Federal law, not South Dakota 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 Dakota 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 Dakota add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?

South Dakota charges no mortgage registration tax and no intangible tax; recording a mortgage with the county register of deeds costs a per-page fee only. South Dakota’s real estate transfer fee is $0.50 per $500 (0.1%), paid by the seller. South Dakota buyer closing costs typically total 2% to 3% of the price; title companies handle closings and there is no mortgage tax.

Related: Loan-level price adjustments: why two borrowers get different rates on the same loan, Paying off your mortgage early: extra payments, biweekly plans and the actual math, Piggyback loans (80/10/10): a second mortgage instead of PMI, Appraisal waivers: how value acceptance and ACE decide you skip the appraisal. First home in South Dakota: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.