A conforming loan is one small enough for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to buy. The Federal Housing Finance Agency resets the ceiling every year, county by county. In South Carolina the answer is simple, because no county in the state is a high-cost area.
| Property | 2026 conforming limit |
|---|---|
| One unit | $832,750 |
| Two units | $1,066,250 |
| Three units | $1,288,800 |
| Four units | $1,601,750 |
The one-unit figure rose $26,250 from 2025. FHFA's county list shows the same four numbers for all 46 counties, from Abbeville to York, including Charleston, Beaufort and Greenville.
The loan can be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so nearly every lender in the state offers it and the underwriting rules are standard.
The loan is a jumbo. Each lender writes its own rules for down payment, reserves and credit, so the spread between lenders gets wider.
The limit applies to the amount borrowed. A larger down payment can bring a higher-priced home back under it.
The figures above are for conventional conforming loans. FHA publishes separate county limits, and the state's own programs add income and home price limits on top, described on SC Housing programs. Because jumbo rules differ so much from one lender to the next, it is the loan size where a broker who can place the file with several lenders earns the most for a borrower.
Source: FHFA, Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026, news release and full county loan limit list. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Home Loans Inc is a South Carolina mortgage broker in North Charleston. One application, priced across many wholesale lenders, with a person who answers the phone.