Modular Homes in South Carolina: Builders, Prices, and Rules

A modular home in South Carolina arrives on a truck in finished sections, gets set on a permanent foundation, and from that moment the law treats it as a house built on site. That single fact decides how it is taxed, how it is financed, and what a coastal county will let you put on your lot. Most buyers find that out after they have already started shopping.

This guide covers the builders working in South Carolina, what their homes actually cost, the code that governs them, and the wind rules that change everything once you cross into Horry, Beaufort, or Georgetown county.

At a glance

• Builders working in SC: Carolina Country Homes (Lancaster and Yemassee), Royal Homes (Summerville, coastal specialist), Regional Homes of Conway (Myrtle Beach area), and Impresa Modular (statewide), among others below.
• Published price floor: Carolina Country Homes lists a two section ranch from $225,000, a cape from $260,000, and a three section home from $290,000.
• Turnkey range: roughly $80 to $150 per square foot for modular, $50 to $90 for HUD code manufactured, before land.
• The legal split: IRC modular homes are real property the day they are set. HUD code homes are personal property until you detitle them.
• Coastal rule: Horry, Beaufort, and Georgetown counties require builds rated for 130 to 150 mph design wind speeds. Inland counties sit at 90 to 110 mph.
• Financing: IRC modular qualifies for 30 year conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA loans, plus SC Housing down payment help up to 4 percent.

Modular versus manufactured homes in South Carolina

In South Carolina, a modular home is built in a factory to the International Residential Code (IRC), the same standard applied to houses framed on site, then placed on a permanent foundation and classified as real property. A manufactured home follows a separate federal HUD code and is first titled as personal property through the SC DMV, though it can be detitled and reclassified as real estate once permanently installed on owned land.

That is the distinction every SC buyer needs, because it travels with the home for its whole life. Modular homes fall under the SC Modular Buildings Construction Act of 1984, codified at Title 23, Chapter 43 of the SC Code of Laws and administered by the SC Building Codes Council. They carry no steel chassis, sit on a slab, crawl space, or basement, and get inspected at the factory and again at your foundation. Manufactured homes keep a permanent steel frame and answer to a federal standard rather than a state one.

One SC quirk matters at resale: any single family modular home placed in the state after January 1, 2005 must have a perimeter wall of brick, masonry, or other permanent material under its exterior walls, built to the IRC. That requirement is part of why SC modular homes appraise alongside conventional houses rather than at a discount.

Watch the labels when you shop. Several builders use “modular” and “manufactured” loosely, and some HUD code retailers market their homes as modular. The construction standard, not the brochure word, decides which track you are on.

Modular home builders in South Carolina

South Carolina is served by a mix of regional modular builders, national manufacturers with local dealers, and a few kit specialists. The prices below come from builder listings and retailer pages checked in the second quarter of 2026. Where a builder does not publish figures, expect to get them only by contacting a dealer.

Builder	SC base	Product	Price signal	Coastal or inland
Carolina Country Homes	Lancaster and Yemassee	Off frame modular (IRC)	From $225,000 ranch, $260,000 cape, $290,000 three section	Both
Royal Homes Inc.	Summerville	Modular (IRC)	Not published; turnkey including site prep and septic	Coastal and Lowcountry
Regional Homes of Conway	Conway	Modular and manufactured	Not published; dealer quote	Coastal Horry County
Impresa Modular	Statewide	Off frame modular (IRC)	Not published; contact builder for quote	Statewide
Franklin Homes (5 SC dealers)	Conway, Piedmont, Hartsville, Moncks Corner, Florence	Modular and manufactured	Not published; dealer quote	Statewide
Clayton Homes	Rock Hill, Anderson, Conway, Lexington, Cayce	Manufactured and modular	Not published; dealer quote	Statewide
Deer Valley Homebuilders	Dealers in Anderson, Bennettsville, Pageland	HUD code manufactured	Not published; retailer quote	Inland
DC Structures	Ships statewide	Prefab kit homes	$42 to $86 per square foot, kit only	Statewide

Carolina Country Homes lists its starting prices outright, from $225,000 for a ranch, and offers a Land Assistance Program with a $500 deposit credited toward your build cost. Royal Homes has built across the Lowcountry since 1985 and quotes turnkey packages that fold in site preparation and septic, which suits buyers on raw coastal land. Regional Homes of Conway sits inside Horry County and knows the Myrtle Beach permitting routine.

Two listings need a flag. Deer Valley builds HUD code manufactured homes, not IRC modular, so it sits on the other regulatory track despite often appearing in modular searches. DC Structures sells building kits, not finished modular sections, and a turnkey DC Structures home typically lands at two to five times the kit price once you add labor and a foundation.

For a deeper look at the two product types, see our guide on modular versus manufactured homes.

How much does a modular home cost in South Carolina?

A finished modular home in South Carolina runs roughly $80 to $150 per square foot installed, which puts a 2,000 square foot home somewhere between $160,000 and $350,000 before land. Manufactured homes come in lower, around $50 to $90 per square foot, because the HUD code construction and simpler foundations cost less to build and set. SC labor and land both sit below the national average, which keeps the state cheaper than most.

The headline figures you see quoted, like the roughly $235,000 average for an SC modular home, almost always mean the home alone. They exclude the land and the site work, and the site work is where budgets slip. Here is the part of the stack the builder price leaves out:

• Land clearing and grading: $4,000 to $11,000
• Foundation: slab $6,000 to $12,000, crawl space $10,000 to $18,000, full basement $18,000 to $30,000 or more
• Water and sewer: $3,000 to $8,000 on municipal hookups; a rural septic install runs $5,000 to $25,000
• Electric service: $1,500 to $5,000
• Delivery and set: commonly $3,000 to $15,000 or more, depending on distance and terrain

Add those to the home and a modular build that started at $225,000 can finish closer to $290,000 once the lot is ready. Coastal lots cost more again, because the home itself has to be a wind rated unit before it can be permitted near the shore.

Our full US modular home pricing guide breaks down the national ranges these SC figures sit inside.

South Carolina building codes and regulations

SC modular homes are governed by the Modular Buildings Construction Act and built to the 2021 SC Residential Code, based on the 2021 IRC and in force since January 1, 2023. The factory does most of the inspection work. State approved agencies, which must employ a registered SC professional engineer or architect, review every design and inspect units through the production line. The SC Building Codes Council audits each licensed factory at least once a year.

Every modular section leaves the plant carrying a certification label, usually fixed inside the electrical panel cover. The label is unit specific and non transferable, and a local building official has to confirm it is present before issuing a Certificate of Occupancy. If a factory violation is found, the label comes off and the home cannot be set.

Local authority picks up at the property line. County and municipal officials handle zoning, site development, the foundation inspection, all the utility connections from the service source to the home, and the final Certificate of Occupancy. That is why the same modular home is straightforward in rural Marlboro or Allendale county and more involved in Horry or Beaufort, where wind load rules apply. Only licensed professionals, residential home builders, general contractors, or modular manufacturers licensed through SC Labor, Licensing and Regulation, may sell modular homes in the state.

Coastal versus inland: what changes in South Carolina?

Wind is the line that splits the SC market. Homes destined for Horry County (Myrtle Beach), Beaufort County (Hilton Head, Bluffton), and Georgetown County (Pawleys Island) must be engineered for design wind speeds of 130 to 150 mph under ASCE 7. Inland counties around Greenville, Spartanburg, and Columbia sit far lower, near 90 to 110 mph, with Upstate counties typically at the lower end of that range.

For a coastal home that means a continuous load path from roof to foundation, hurricane straps or clips at the roof to wall connections rather than plain toenailing, a six nail sheathing pattern in place of four, and impact rated windows or approved shutters. A South Carolina licensed engineer must seal the structural plans. At the permit stage, the county checks the home’s data plate against the local wind requirement, and if the rating falls short the install is denied. So a coastal buyer has to confirm the wind zone specification before ordering, not after the home is built.

Inland, the rules ease and so do the costs. Land is cheaper, site preparation is simpler, and fewer wind add ons are needed. The Upstate counties of Pickens, Oconee, and Greenville carry minor seismic considerations, but nothing on the scale of the coastal wind premium. Not every SC builder is set up for coastal work, which is why Royal Homes and Regional Homes of Conway, both Lowcountry and Grand Strand operators, are worth a call if you are buying near the water.

Financing a modular home in South Carolina

Because an IRC modular home is real property, it finances exactly like a house built on site. It qualifies for 30 year conventional mortgages through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FHA Title II loans, VA loans with no down payment for eligible veterans, and USDA Rural Development loans in qualifying rural SC areas. The appraisal and insurance work the same way too.

HUD code manufactured homes are the complication. Titled as personal property, they rely on chattel loans, typically 15 to 25 year terms at higher rates, or an FHA Title I loan. Put one on a permanent foundation and detitle it, though, and it becomes real property and opens up to conventional, FHA, and VA financing.

SC Housing, the state finance authority, helps on either track. Palmetto Home Advantage runs in all 46 counties, accepts conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA loans, allows off frame modular homes, and pairs a mortgage with forgivable down payment assistance of 0, 3, or 4 percent with no monthly payment, subject to a 640 minimum credit score and a $135,750 income limit. Public service workers, including teachers, law enforcement, healthcare staff, and first responders, can layer in the 2026 Palmetto Heroes program for $10,000 in forgivable down payment help, though funds for the 2026 cycle were exhausted in April 2026 and availability depends on future funding cycles. Buyers in eligible rural areas can also reach 100 percent financing through USDA.

The rule underneath all of it is simple. Whether you get a mortgage or a chattel loan depends on whether the home is real property or personal property, and that depends on the construction track and the title status. IRC modular is always real property. Manufactured can get there through detitling.

Ready to compare builders serving your part of South Carolina? Start with the builders above, then check our US modular homes hub and the neighboring North Carolina and Georgia guides, since several of these builders work across all three states.