Conventional loan in Virginia: what it costs on the median home, and when PMI ends

On Virginia’s rough $400,000 median, a conventional loan with 5% down means $20,000 at closing and about $2,913 a month with taxes and mortgage insurance; with 20% down, $80,000 and about $2,296. Everything below is worked on those numbers and on the state rules that change them.

Loan limits: the Virginia picture

Two numbers decide the question in Virginia: 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 $400,000, every scenario below is conforming. Every Virginia county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

Conforming limits for all 133 Virginia counties

The 133 counties of Virginia split into two groups for 2026: 115 at the $832,750 baseline and 18 FHFA high-cost counties (bold in the table) with one-unit limits up to $1,249,125. A buyer who crosses into Alexandria City, Arlington County, Clarke County and 14 more gains $416,375 of conforming room over a baseline 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.

The numbers: 3%, 5%, 10% and 20% down in Virginia

The table assumes Virginia’s $400,000 median, a 6.5% rate chosen for illustration, typical PMI pricing by down payment (your credit score moves it), and the state’s 0.82% effective property tax. Add insurance and HOA dues to get a full payment.

The 3% row assumes a program such as HomeReady or Home Possible; income limits apply. Compare with FHA at 3.5% down on the FHA vs conventional guide.

How long you pay PMI here

Federal rules, identical in Virginia: you may request cancellation at 80% of the original value and the servicer must cancel at 78%. On the scheduled amortization alone, the 5% down loan above reaches 80% after about 10 years and 4 months and 78% after about 11 years and 3 months; the 10% down loan, 80% after about 7 years and 11 months; the 3% down loan, 80% after about 11 years and 1 months. At roughly $238 a month on the 5% scenario, that is about $29,512 of PMI over the period — the strongest argument for extra principal payments or a value-based cancellation request once prices rise.

The Virginia closing: costs and who runs it

Virginia closings are conducted either by attorneys or by licensed non-attorney settlement agents, a choice the Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protection Act (Code of Virginia § 55.1-1000 and following, formerly CRESPA) gives to the buyer, who must be told in writing that they may select their own settlement agent. Settlement agents register with the Virginia State Bar or the Bureau of Insurance depending on their category. Funding is wet, and settlement fees typically run from a few hundred dollars to around a thousand.

Virginia taxes the deed of trust: the state recordation tax under Code § 58.1-803 is 25 cents for every $100 of the secured debt, and cities and counties may add a local recordation tax of up to one-third of the state amount (§ 58.1-3800), bringing the combined charge to roughly 33 cents per $100, paid by the borrower at recording. A refinance with the same lender is taxed only on new money under § 58.1-803(D). The grantor’s tax on the deed (§ 58.1-802) and the regional congestion relief fee in Northern Virginia are the seller’s transfer taxes, separate from the loan. Virginia’s recordation tax on the deed and mortgage is $0.25 per $100 (0.25%) each, paid by the buyer, plus a grantor tax of $0.50 per $500 (0.1%, more in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads for regional transportation) paid by the seller.

Virginia buyers pay recordation taxes on both the deed and the mortgage — roughly 0.5% combined — plus title, attorney or settlement agent fees and lender costs, for a typical 2.5% to 3.5% of the price.

State law a conventional borrower should know

Prepayment. Virginia caps rather than bans prepayment penalties: Code § 6.2-423 limits the penalty a lender may charge on first-mortgage loans secured by a one-to-four family home, generally to a small percentage of the balance prepaid, and the subordinate-mortgage chapter (§ 6.2-407 and following) restricts charges on junior liens. The federal ability-to-repay rule caps penalties tightly and bans them on adjustable or higher-priced loans.

Spouses and title. Virginia is a common-law property state, so a spouse who does not sign the note or the deed of trust has no ownership claim to a home titled to the other spouse.

Homestead. Virginia’s homestead exemption in Code § 34-4 is modest: $5,000 of any property plus, since 2020, an additional $25,000 in real or personal property used as the principal residence, with small add-ons for dependents and for owners 65 and older; it must be claimed by recording a homestead deed (§ 34-6) before the sale or in bankruptcy, a procedural step many homeowners miss.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in Virginia for 2026?

$832,750 for a one-unit home in most of Virginia (115 of 133 counties), but 18 FHFA high-cost counties go higher — Alexandria City, Arlington County, Clarke County and 14 more tops the state at $1,249,125, the national ceiling. Check your county in the table below.

When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in Virginia?

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

Virginia taxes the deed of trust: the state recordation tax under Code § 58.1-803 is 25 cents for every $100 of the secured debt, and cities and counties may add a local recordation tax of up to one-third of the state amount (§ 58.1-3800), bringing the combined charge to roughly 33 cents per $100, paid by the borrower at recording. Virginia’s recordation tax on the deed and mortgage is $0.25 per $100 (0.25%) each, paid by the buyer, plus a grantor tax of $0.50 per $500 (0.1%, more in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads for regional transportation) paid by the seller. Virginia buyers pay recordation taxes on both the deed and the mortgage — roughly 0.5% combined — plus title, attorney or settlement agent fees and lender costs, for a typical 2.5% to 3.5% of the price.

Related: Conventional loan requirements in 2026: what Fannie Mae’s guide actually says, USDA vs VA vs FHA vs conventional: the four loan types compared, 2026 conforming loan limits: $832,750 in most counties, up to $1,249,125 in high-cost areas, 30-year vs 15-year mortgage: the real trade-off, with the numbers. First home in Virginia: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.