SC realtors closed 7,884 transactions in August 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 70 days (DTC — Days to Close). That is 18.6% longer than August 2024. The market remains active and the wait is getting longer. More money earned means more money sitting unpaid for longer.
August 2023 statewide DTC was 60 days. August 2024 came in at 59 days. August 2025 landed at 70 days. Three consecutive years, three consecutive increases. The trend is structural, not seasonal.
August is when SC's summer market begins to taper. Closings dipped 2.1% in August 2025. But DTC surged to 70 days — 18.6% longer than August 2024. Volume is easing and the wait is getting significantly longer. A widening cash flow gap heading into fall.
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 — August 2025 | vs Statewide avg | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spartanburg | 40 days | 30 days faster | +8.1% |
| Greater Columbia | 43 days | 27 days faster | +7.5% |
| Charleston Trident | 49 days | 21 days faster | +28.9% |
| Greater Greenville | 49 days | 21 days faster | +8.9% |
| Piedmont Regional | 51 days | 19 days faster | +45.7% |
| Sumter/Clarendon County | 62 days | 8 days faster | +12.7% |
| Pee Dee | 64 days | 6 days faster | +25.5% |
| Western Upstate | 60 days | near avg | +4.7% |
| Central Carolina | 83 days | 13 days slower | +3.8% |
| Cherokee County | 91 days | 21 days slower | +54.2% |
| Greater Augusta | 93 days | 23 days slower | -6.1% |
| Greenwood | 97 days | 27 days slower | -2.0% |
| Aiken | 100 days | 30 days slower | +44.9% |
| Beaufort | 115 days | 45 days slower | +18.6% |
| Hilton Head Area | 116 days | 46 days slower | +157.8% |
| Coastal Carolinas | 123 days | 53 days slower | +7.0% |
The August 2025 Days to Close figure is part of a multi-year pattern across South Carolina. August 2023 the statewide average was 60 days. By August 2024 it had risen to 59 days. August 2025 came in at 70 days. That is 10 more days of unpaid commission per transaction than two years ago — with no sign of reversal.
Multiply the number of August 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 August 2025 that number reached 551,880 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 August 2025 was $344,000 (+2.1% from last year). At a 3% commission rate that is approximately $10,320 per transaction. That check is sitting unpaid for an average of 70 days (DTC) from contract signing. As both prices and DTC continue to move, the dollar amount sitting unpaid per agent changes every month.