How much of a down payment do I need to buy a house in South Carolina?

If you qualify for down payment assistance in South Carolina, you can bring as little as $0 to the closing table. Otherwise, you may still qualify for a zero down payment through VA or USDA lending programs. If those aren't an option, conventional loans will allow as little as 3% down, or FHA as little as 3.5% down.

How much are closing costs in South Carolina?

On average, you can expect to need to bring about $3,447 to closing if you're buying a home, or $3,009 if you're refinancing your existing home.

South Carolina Mortgage Calculator

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If you're planning to buy a home in South Carolina, there's quite a bit you should know first -- including how much you're going to pay each month toward your mortgage. Try our South Carolina mortgage calculator to help you estimate the monthly cost of your new home, followed by important information about buying and owning in the Palmetto State.

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South Carolina housing market
What determines your monthly mortgage payment?
How do I calculate my mortgage payment?
Things to know before buying a house in South Carolina
Tips for first-time home buyers in South Carolina
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You'll notice that the calculator has a feature below the data fields that says "show additional inputs." If you want to know what your all-in mortgage payment is likely to be, including taxes, insurance, and HOA dues, you can include them in the calculation.

Need help understanding mortgage terms, types, and more? You're not alone.

South Carolina housing market

Buyers in South Carolina are still facing a stiff battle, with a tight housing market that's just getting tighter. In August 2023, the number of homes for sale was 25,588, down 4.4% year over year, or about two months of inventory. The median sales price in August 2023 was $370,500, up 5.3% year over year, despite the number of homes sold dropping 8.5% year over year.

Although 25.3% of the homes sold in South Carolina during August 2023 had price drops, 19.8% of them sold above the list price. This give and take resulted in a 98.4% sale-to-list price, meaning that although sellers didn't always get their asking price, they generally got very close. It has all the hallmarks of remaining a strong seller's market.

According to Realtor.com's research, South Carolina had two of the top 10 housing markets for growth for 2023. Augusta came in at No. 6, and Columbia at No. 8. Both are seeing increased sales growth and price growth, each with a combined sales and price growth of over 11%

What determines your monthly mortgage payment?

Several factors come into play when calculating your mortgage payment. Our mortgage calculator for South Carolina takes these into account, so you can more accurately estimate your monthly mortgage payments.

When it comes to the principal and interest payment you'll make each month, there are three main factors that determine your monthly payment:

1. Home price and down payment

This is the most obvious and straightforward factor. The more you borrow to buy your home, the higher your mortgage payment will be. All other factors being equal, the monthly principal and interest payment on a $400,000 mortgage is going to be twice as much as that of a $200,000 mortgage. Use our South Carolina mortgage calculator above to determine the monthly payments for your mortgage.

Your down payment also influences the credit score needed for a home loan. Certain mortgage lenders will approve borrowers with lower credit scores if the borrower offers a higher down payment.

2. Interest rate

Here's where it starts to get mathematically complex. Your mortgage interest rate is the amount of interest you'll pay on your outstanding mortgage balance. Having a higher interest rate will increase how much you pay over the lifetime of your mortgage, so finding even a slightly lower interest rate can save you a huge amount of money if you plan to stay in your home long term.

For example, if you borrow $300,000 using a 30-year fixed mortgage at 7.5%, the total interest you'll pay in those 30 years is $455,787. However, if you can secure a 7.0% mortgage, for example, that'll reduce the lifetime interest to $419,307.

Depending on your credit score, you may get an interest rate that is around the market average, or that is significantly higher or lower. Our mortgage calculator for South Carolina can help you estimate different monthly payments based on varying interest rates. If you're not sure where to start, check out our guide to current South Carolina mortgage rates.

3. Mortgage term

The most common mortgage term length, by far, is 30 years (360 months). Fifteen-year mortgages are also common, and there are other term lengths available as well. Because of the mathematical complexities of amortization, the effect of your mortgage term length on your monthly payment isn't straightforward -- that is, a 15-year mortgage payment isn't twice that of a 30-year mortgage with the same interest rate and principal amount. If you want to know how your term influences your monthly payment, just change the term for the "mortgage type" drop-down in the South Carolina mortgage calculator at the top of this page.

How do I calculate my mortgage payment?

Try our South Carolina mortgage calculator above. If you really want to calculate your payment manually, the formula is quite complicated. But if you want to see the full breakdown, it works like this:

Let's say you're borrowing $350,000 to buy a home, and you take out a 30-year mortgage at 7.5% interest. In the formula, you'd use 350,000 as the principal, 360 for the number of months, and 0.075 as the interest rate.

This formula only calculates your principal and interest payment. In the vast majority of cases, mortgage borrowers are required to pay a prorated share of their anticipated property taxes and homeowners insurance along with their mortgage. And, if you live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association (HOA) or a condominium association, you might have to pay your monthly dues to your mortgage servicer along with your payment, and it in turn pays the association on your behalf. And, if you plan on putting less than 20% down, you'll probably have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) each month.

So to get a more accurate picture of how much your mortgage payment might be, take the amount you calculated using the formula, and then add a twelfth of your home's annual property taxes and hazard insurance, as well as your monthly HOA dues (if paying it via your mortgage). Or you could just use our South Carolina mortgage calculator with taxes and insurance, above.

Things to know before buying a house in South Carolina

South Carolina is generally considered a lower-cost real estate market, since its median home value is below the U.S. average of $416,100 (as of second quarter 2023). However, there are some rather expensive real estate markets. These include Charleston, Greenville, and Mount Pleasant, to name a few. If you're buying your first home, it may be best to start small rather than immediately jumping into a pricey area.

South Carolina has some of the lowest property taxes in the United States. South Carolina has an average real estate tax rate of just 0.5% of a home's fair market value, making it the fourth-cheapest state in terms of property taxes. This means that the average annual property tax bill on a $370,000 home in South Carolina would be about $1,850. However, it's important to note that South Carolina's property taxes vary widely by city, county, and district.

South Carolina has beautiful beaches and coastal areas, but if you're planning to buy a home anywhere near the coast, be prepared to pay extra for your homeowners insurance. You'll need to cover potential damage from tropical storms and hurricanes. And if your home is in a low-lying coastal area, you may be required to carry flood insurance as well. You can figure out your monthly payment with these increased costs using the above South Carolina mortgage calculator with your taxes and insurance typed into the "additional inputs" section.

Tips for first-time home buyers in South Carolina

South Carolina has a few programs first-time home buyers may want to look into. The SC Housing Homebuyer Program helps connect buyers with down payment assistance programs, and helps buyers find mortgages with low, fixed interest rates.

The Palmetto Home Advantage mortgage program offers forgivable down payment assistance of up to 4% to qualified borrowers, regardless of first-time borrower status. The program requires a minimum of a 640 credit score with a borrower income limit of $124,000 for 2023.

Still have questions?

Here are some other questions we've answered:

FAQs

If you qualify for down payment assistance in South Carolina, you can bring as little as $0 to the closing table. Otherwise, you may still qualify for a zero down payment through VA or USDA lending programs. If those aren't an option, conventional loans will allow as little as 3% down, or FHA as little as 3.5% down.
On average, you can expect to need to bring about $3,447 to closing if you're buying a home, or $3,009 if you're refinancing your existing home.

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