Buying a home in South Carolina: payments, the 4% ratio and SC Housing

#Why South Carolina tax bills start low

South Carolina homeowners pay a median $1,337 a year in property tax, according to the Census Bureau — the 6th-lowest amount among the 50 states and DC — on homes with a median value of $299,500. That is an effective rate of 0.45%, the 5th-lowest ratio in the country.

The assessment ratio does much of the work. Counties tax a home that is your legal residence on 4% of its fair market value; a second home, a vacation home, commercial property and vacant land are assessed at 6%. Local millage is applied to that assessed value, so the same house can carry two very different bills depending on whether its owner lives in it.

#A month of payments on the median South Carolina home

Insurance is the line to check first. The example uses Freddie Mac’s national average premium per $1,000 of value; quotes near the coast can run well above it because of wind and flood exposure, and flood insurance is a separate policy. Open the mortgage payment calculator with these figures loaded and change the price, down payment or rate.

#What a South Carolina median income buys

The median South Carolina household earns $72,350 a year. Keeping housing costs within Freddie Mac’s guideline of 30% of gross income leaves $1,809 a month, which supports a home of about $246,000 with 10% down under the same rate, tax and insurance assumptions — $53,500 less than the median home value. To buy the median home on that guideline, a household needs roughly $88,000 a year.

Owning is more common than nationally here: 72.3% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners, against 65.3% for the US. The housing stock is also newer than the national median — the median South Carolina home was built in 1993, the 7th-newest stock of the 50 states and DC. Test your own income and debts in the affordability calculator.

#SC Housing’s forgivable down payment options

SC Housing, the state’s housing finance agency, lends through participating banks and mortgage companies. Its two main purchase programs both pair a fixed-rate first mortgage with down payment assistance that you don’t repay if you keep the home:

On the median home bought with the 3% minimum down payment on a conventional loan, the top Palmetto Home Advantage option comes to about $11,621 — more than the $8,985 down payment, leaving about $2,636 toward closing costs. Choosing assistance can mean a slightly higher rate on the first mortgage, so compare offers from a participating lender with and without it. See how state programs fit together in first-time home buyer programs.

#The deed recording fee at closing

South Carolina’s version of a transfer tax is the deed recording fee: a state portion and a county portion that together come to 0.37% of the price. On the median home that is about $1,108. South Carolina adds no separate state tax for recording the mortgage itself. Your purchase contract says which side pays the fee, so check it against the Closing Disclosure.

Everything else follows the usual pattern — lender fees, title insurance, prepaid interest and escrow deposits — and the CFPB’s typical range of 2%–5% of the price works out to $5,990–$14,975 on the median home. The closing cost calculator adds the deed fee for you.

#Property tax relief for older and disabled owners

On top of the 4% ratio, the Homestead Exemption removes the first $50,000 of fair market value of a legal residence from property tax for owners who are 65 or older, totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind — about 17% of the median home’s value. The county auditor administers it, and your legal residence must be approved before the exemption is granted. The state also authorized a temporary additional exemption for some recipients for tax year 2026.