SC realtors closed 7,818 transactions in March 2025. More deals closed. More commissions earned. But from the moment a contract was signed to the day agents got paid, they waited an average of 74 days (DTC — Days to Close). That is 4.2% longer than March 2024. The market remains active and the wait is getting longer. More money earned means more money sitting unpaid for longer.
March 2023 statewide DTC was 74 days. March 2024 came in at 71 days. March 2025 landed at 74 days. Three consecutive years, three consecutive increases. The trend is structural, not seasonal.
March is when SC's spring market fully kicks in — volume jumps and DTC typically tightens. March 2025 closings rose 2.9% year-over-year. But DTC came in at 74 days — still 4.2% longer than March 2024. Volume is growing but the wait is not improving.
Contract-to-close times vary dramatically across South Carolina. The same state, the same month — but a Hilton Head agent waits more than 2.5 times longer than a Charleston agent to receive the same commission check.
| Region | DTC — March 2025 | vs Statewide avg | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spartanburg | 51 days | 23 days faster | +18.6% |
| Charleston Trident | 52 days | 22 days faster | +33.3% |
| Piedmont Regional | 55 days | 19 days faster | +22.2% |
| Greater Columbia | 57 days | 17 days faster | +23.9% |
| Greater Greenville | 60 days | 14 days faster | +11.1% |
| Hilton Head Area | 66 days | 8 days faster | +22.2% |
| Pee Dee | 74 days | 7 days faster | -17.3% |
| Sumter/Clarendon County | 68 days | 6 days faster | +6.3% |
| Western Upstate | 74 days | near avg | +8.8% |
| Central Carolina | 89 days | 15 days slower | +14.1% |
| Cherokee County | 109 days | 35 days slower | +17.2% |
| Greater Augusta | 118 days | 44 days slower | +7.3% |
| Aiken | 120 days | 46 days slower | +10.1% |
| Greenwood | 121 days | 47 days slower | +31.5% |
| Beaufort | 123 days | 49 days slower | +20.6% |
| Coastal Carolinas | 130 days | 56 days slower | +10.2% |
The March 2025 Days to Close figure is part of a multi-year pattern across South Carolina. March 2023 the statewide average was 74 days. By March 2024 it had risen to 71 days. March 2025 came in at 74 days. That is 0 more days of unpaid commission per transaction than two years ago — with no sign of reversal.
Multiply the number of March 2025 closings by the average DTC and you get a picture of how much earned but unpaid commission is sitting in the SC pipeline at any given moment. In March 2025 that number reached 578,532 agent-days of unpaid commission statewide. The busier the market and the longer contracts take to close, the bigger that number grows.
The SC median home price in March 2025 was $335,000 (+5.7% from last year). At a 3% commission rate that is approximately $10,050 per transaction. That check is sitting unpaid for an average of 74 days (DTC) from contract signing. As both prices and DTC continue to move, the dollar amount sitting unpaid per agent changes every month.