Getting a Mortgage in South Carolina: 2026 Guide

The Charleston metro (Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester counties) anchors a meaningful slice of the state's mortgage volume, with high pricing on the peninsula and a deep pool of move-up activity in Mount Pleasant, James Island, and Daniel Island. The Greenville metro (Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson counties) has been one of the fastest-growing parts of the state.

The Columbia metro (Richland, Lexington counties) anchors the Midlands, with steady state-government and university-driven demand. Myrtle Beach (Horry County) and Hilton Head (Beaufort County) drive vacation-home and retirement-buyer activity.

South Carolina's property tax classification is unusual: owner-occupied principal residences are taxed at a 4% assessment ratio, while second homes and investment properties are taxed at 6% (plus exposure to the school operating millage that primary residences are exempt from). The classification can multiply the effective tax line on a non-primary purchase.

For 2026, the conforming one-unit loan limit in every South Carolina county is $806,500 and the statewide FHA one-unit floor is $524,225. There are no high-cost designations anywhere in South Carolina.

Higher-end Charleston peninsula and Hilton Head contracts can push into jumbo territory above the conforming cap. Across the rest of the state, the floor figures apply.

South Carolina's effective property tax rate on owner-occupied principal residences runs around 0.57% of market value statewide. Non-primary residences (second homes, investment properties) are taxed at a higher 6% assessment ratio plus school operating millage that primary residences are exempt from, which can roughly double or triple the effective tax line.

Always pull the actual county tax line for the specific parcel and confirm the 4% Legal Residence application is filed once the property becomes your principal residence. The classification difference is one of the largest single variables on a South Carolina vacation-home or investment purchase.

South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC Housing) runs the dominant first-time buyer first mortgage program family in the state. The SC Housing Homebuyer Program pairs a discounted-rate first mortgage with optional Forgivable DPA for income-eligible first-time buyers.

SC Housing also runs the SC Housing Mortgage Tax Credit (MCC). Funding levels and parameters are reviewed periodically.

South Carolina has heavy eligible-veteran demand around Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (Beaufort County), Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Fort Jackson (Columbia), and Shaw AFB (Sumter). The 2026 VA county loan limit in every South Carolina county matches the conforming baseline of $806,500.

VA funding fee on a no-down-payment first-time use is 2.15% of the loan amount; subsequent use without a down payment is 3.3%. Borrowers receiving VA disability compensation are exempt. South Carolina also offers a state property tax exemption for qualifying disabled veterans.

Plan for buyer-side closing costs of roughly 2 to 3% of the purchase price in South Carolina, plus prepaid escrows. South Carolina charges a deed recording fee of $1.85 per $500 of consideration on the deed, customarily paid by the seller.

Standard purchase closings run 30 to 35 days. South Carolina is a judicial-foreclosure state and uses an attorney-state closing model (a licensed attorney must oversee the closing).