Mortgage lender in Lancaster County, PA

Buying in Lancaster County

Lancaster County, with its county seat in Lancaster, takes in Lancaster, Lititz, Ephrata, Manheim Township, Elizabethtown, Columbia and Strasburg. Stellar lends across all of Pennsylvania, and Lancaster County files are handled from our Southampton, PA office by a licensed officer you can reach directly.

2026 conforming limit

$832,750

2026 FHA limit

$541,287 (one-unit, set by HUD)

Above that

Jumbo pricing

Closing handled by

title company

State housing agency

PHFA (participating lender)

Your office

Southampton, PA

2026 limits for a one-unit property. Lancaster County is not designated a high-cost area for conforming loans. Sources: FHFA conforming loan limit values and HUD FHA mortgage limits.

The 2026 baseline conforming limit is $832,750 nationally, and that is the figure that applies in Lancaster County. Loans above it are jumbo, which means tighter reserves and different pricing.

Lancaster County: city rowhomes, suburban townships and farm country

Lancaster County is a distinct market from the Philadelphia suburbs and we treat it that way. Lancaster city's rowhomes and the adjacent boroughs of Millersville, Columbia and Mountville are the county's entry-level inventory. Manheim Township, Lititz, East Hempfield and Lampeter-Strasburg are the suburban school districts where most single-family and new construction activity concentrates, and Ephrata, Elizabethtown, Mount Joy and Denver serve buyers who work in Lancaster, Harrisburg or the Route 222 corridor. Beyond that the county is farmland, and a large share of its addresses are inside USDA's eligible area.

Rural Lancaster County brings lending questions the suburbs do not: private wells and septic systems that require testing, properties with acreage or outbuildings where the appraiser has to separate residential value from agricultural use, and homes sold with land leases or right-of-way arrangements that title has to clear. We flag those at the pre-approval stage so the appraisal does not become a surprise.

Lancaster County files are handled from our Southampton office by a licensed Pennsylvania officer, primarily by phone and secure portal, with closings through the title company. PHFA assistance pairs with FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans for buyers within the agency's limits. Elmer Perez, our Spanish-speaking branch manager, serves Lancaster County buyers in Spanish, and a Spanish-language version of this page is available.

Lancaster County by the numbers

Median home value

$301,100 (Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, table B25077)

Typical property tax

About 1.32% of home value a year: median tax bill $3,975 on a median value of $301,100 (Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, table B25103)

Transfer tax

State realty transfer tax of 1% of the value, plus a local tax that varies by municipality (Pennsylvania Department of Revenue)

Largest communities

Lancaster, Manheim Township, East Hempfield Township, Manor Township (Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, table B01003)

The county median home value is $301,100. The 2026 one-unit conforming loan limit here is $832,750 and the FHA limit is $541,287.

Census figures are survey estimates for owner-occupied homes, not appraisals or tax quotes. We use the actual tax bill for the property when we quote.

Closing and programs in Pennsylvania

Closings in Pennsylvania are typically handled by a title company. The closing process, state transfer and recording taxes and first-time buyer programs are covered on the Pennsylvania page. Property taxes are set locally; we take the figure from the tax record for the address.

Questions Lancaster County buyers ask

Conforming limit shown is the 2026 FHFA figure for Lancaster County. FHA limits and state agency caps are set by HUD and PHFA and change periodically. Verify on the official source. Not a commitment to lend.